Southern Belle
01-28-2011, 10:51 PM
NASA on Friday remembered the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the seven crew members that died on board, 25 years after the incident.
At several locations including the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and the families of the astronauts gathered.
Bob Cabana, the Kennedy Space Center Director, said that the Challenger disaster, “much like the assassination of President Kennedy, the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, [and] September, 11, 2001, ... define our history.”
Challenger broke into pieces just over a minute after it launched on Jan. 28, 1986 after its solid rocket booster failed and pressurized hot gas caused the craft to explode.
The craft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean. For a number of months after the accident, there were no space shuttle launches.
Despite being one of the worst space disasters in US history, Cabana said that the tragedy did not stop the space agency from progressing further.
“We will continue to strive to be better, to explore, to expand our knowledge of our universe and to reach beyond,” he said.
Then-President Ronald Reagan canceled his State of the Union address and made a special announcement regarding the tragedy.
At several locations including the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and the families of the astronauts gathered.
Bob Cabana, the Kennedy Space Center Director, said that the Challenger disaster, “much like the assassination of President Kennedy, the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, [and] September, 11, 2001, ... define our history.”
Challenger broke into pieces just over a minute after it launched on Jan. 28, 1986 after its solid rocket booster failed and pressurized hot gas caused the craft to explode.
The craft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean. For a number of months after the accident, there were no space shuttle launches.
Despite being one of the worst space disasters in US history, Cabana said that the tragedy did not stop the space agency from progressing further.
“We will continue to strive to be better, to explore, to expand our knowledge of our universe and to reach beyond,” he said.
Then-President Ronald Reagan canceled his State of the Union address and made a special announcement regarding the tragedy.