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28 January 2003 - It's been
seventeen years since the
Challenger exploded.
A
ceremony near the launch site marked the
tragic anniversary, and aboard the
Shuttle Columbia (Challenger's
predecessor), the crew of
STS-107 observed
a moment of
silence, as did the
Expedition Six
crew on the
International Space Station. At Johnson Space Center in Houston,
a bell tolled
10 times, once for each of the
astronauts lost in the Challenger and Apollo 1 catastrophes. Where were you that day in 1986?
NASA reports:
Challenger Memorial Ceremony
NASA
Administrator Sean O'Keefe represents the entire NASA family as we
remember the crews of the Apollo 1 and Challenger mishaps during a
wreath-laying ceremony at The Challenger Memorial in Arlington National
Cemetery. We honor those who lost their lives: Roger Chaffee, Ed White,
and Gus Grissom of Apollo 1 ... and Ronald McNair,
Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Greg Jarvis,
& Christa McAuliffe of STS 51-L.
Today In Space History - Today
marks the 17th
anniversary of the biggest
tragedy in the history of the Space Program: The Challenger
disaster. On 28
January 1986, 7
astronauts lost their lives when Shuttle
Challenger exploded just 73
seconds after launch. Mission Fact sheet
here; Crew info
here;
Image collections here
and here.
Mission STS-51L
was the 25th
Shuttle flight, and it carried
the first "Teacher In Space",
Christa McAuliffe. The Challenger,
(OV-99),
was the second
orbiter built, and had completed
9 successful
missions (starting with STS-6
in 1983) before the terrible
incident, which was caused
by O-rings
in the right solid rocket
booster becoming brittle in the
winter cold. The
accident rocked
the nation and became embedded
in the minds of an entire
generation. The remains
of some crewmembers
were buried with honors at Arlington
National Cemetery, and the wreckage
of the spacecraft is sealed in a missile
silo at Cape
Canaveral. NASA grounded
the Shuttle program for more than two
years while safety
improvements were made. The Challenger
Learning Centers, dedicated to space science
education, were founded in
honor of the crew. Remember the
brave men and women of Challenger
and Apollo 1!
[Date: NASA]
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27 January 2003 -
Check our
coverage of
Shuttle Columbia's
16-day science mission.
Today is the Apollo 1 anniversary.
NASA reports:
NASA
Remembers
"NASA's
success stands on the foundation of our unwavering commitment to safety,
with respect to both our mission operations and daily activities," said
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. Today is an opportunity to reflect on and
remember the loss of Apollo 1
on Jan. 27, 1967, and Challenger
on Jan. 28, 1986. We remember and honor those who lost their lives: Roger
Chaffee, Ed White, and Gus Grissom of Apollo 1 (pictured above from left)
and Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Dick Scobee, Michael
Smith, Greg Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe of STS 51-L.
Today In Space History - Today marks the 36th
anniversary of a tragic day in the race for the moon: the Apollo
1 fire. On 27
Jan 1967, three astronauts lost
their lives on the launch
pad at Cape Canaveral during a test
procedure in preparation
for what would have been the first
mission in the lunar
program. Gus
Grissom, Ed
White, and Roger
Chaffee perished when a spark
ignited the pure-oxygen
atmosphere of the Apollo Command
Module at Pad 34.
Details here
[requires free Adobe
Acrobat Reader]; Crew info here;
Image collections here
and here. The loss
of AS-204
caused a delay of nearly two years in the Apollo program, resulting in many changes
to the spacecraft design. In December 1997, nearly 31 years after the
accident, President Clinton awarded the Congressional
Space Medal of Honor to the fallen astronauts (their families
accepted the medals). Never forget the heroes
of space exploration!
[Date: NASA]
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