The day the space dream died
Thirty years ago, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven astronauts on board, and shocking a national space dream back into reality
The Challenger crew: (left to right) Teacher-in-Space payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe; payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission commander; Ron
(NASA)That day thousands of spectators, dressed for a cold morning, awaited the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Across the country, students were being treated
The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger walks out of the operations building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its way to launch pad-39B.
(CORBIS)
Spectators in the VIP area at the Kennedy Space Center watch the Space Shuttle Challenger liftoff at 11:38 a.m.
(AP Photo/Bruce Weaver)
Classmates of Scott McAuliffe, the son of America's first school teacher astronaut, Christa McAuliffe, cheer as the space shuttle Challenger lifts skyward. Scott, his father, and their family watched the launch from a different locatio
(AP Photo/Jim Cole)
The Space Shuttle Challenger "explodes" shortly after liftoff, about 10 miles above the ground. Though it appears to be an explosion, there was no actual "bang," just the roar of the engines stopping as the shuttle's fuel tank tore apa
(AP Photo/Bruce Weaver)
Faces of spectators register horror, shock, and sadness.
(Bettmann/CORBIS)
Spectators in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
(Bettmann/CORBIS)
The family of Christa McAuliffe, including her sister (front) and parents, Grace and Ed Corrigan.
(AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Scott McAuliffe's third-grade teacher (left) comforts one of her students.
(AP Photo)
Senior class President Carina Dolcino and her fellow classmates watch the launch from television sets that were scattered throughout Concord High School, where McAuliffe taught. A gala celebration had been planned for a successful laun
(AP Photo/Ken Williams/Concord Monitor)
President Ronald Reagan finishes his televised address to the nation about the Challenger explosion.
(AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Seven miniature American flags stick out of the ground on a road near the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
(AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)
