By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 45 minutes ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The widow of Challenger's commander laid a wreath of roses and carnations at a memorial honoring fallen astronauts Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the day the space shuttle lifted off from a launch pad a few miles away and blew apart 73 seconds later.
June Scobee Rodgers, whose husband Dick Scobee was the shuttle's commander, recalled waiting for the launch that chilly morning with other family members of the crew, including 12 children.
"Our lives were shattered, but over the years that followed the families persevered with tremendous success," Rodgers said. "I believe those parents launched aboard Challenger would be proud of their children."
Seven astronauts died in the explosion, and the images of the shuttle bursting apart were replayed over and over to a shocked nation.
On Saturday, 250 people joined a ceremony at Kennedy Space Center to honor Scobee, pilot Mike Smith, astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair and Greg Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe, who was supposed to be the first teacher in space.
Rodgers, along with NASA associate administrator Bill Gerstenmaier, laid the wreath at the base of the Space Mirror Memorial, a tall granite-finished wall engraved with the names of the Challenger astronauts, the seven astronauts killed when space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas in 2003 and the three Apollo 1 astronauts killed in a fire during a 1967 launch pad test.
The audience included some relatives of the Columbia and Apollo 1 crews, as well as the widows of Challenger astronauts Smith and Onizuka. Supporters stood in line to lay flowers at the side of the monument.
"I have lived around the space program my whole life and it's a fitting tribute for those who made the ultimate sacrifice," said Susan Valek, who works for a Kennedy Space Center contractor.
The investigation into the Challenger accident revealed a space agency more concerned with schedules and public relations than with safety and sound decision-making.
The explosion eventually was blamed on a poorly designed gasket in one of the shuttle's solid fuel boosters which hardened in cold weather. The temperature at Challenger's liftoff was 36 degrees. Engineers for a NASA contractor had protested launching at that temperature, but they were overruled by their managers under perceived pressure from the space agency.
"It is our responsibility, individually and collectively, to make good decisions," Gerstenmaier told the audience. "As engineers, the machines we build can do great things but can also cause great harm."
Rodgers said the Challenger accident hadn't changed her opinion about the importance of space exploration.
"Without risk, there's no discovery, there's no new knowledge, there's no bold adventure," Rodgers said. "The greatest risk is to take no risk."
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I was sitting there watching this launch on TV. Such a sad, sad day. So tragic and so unnecessary.
I experienced that event in school in the US but it wasnt more than an accident why should this get more attention than other and way much bigger accidents around the world, why?
After all they new the risk they wanted to go places unnatural for man to go so they just payed the price for trying to be unnatural.
Man wasnt ment to go to space nor underwater, if it was we wouldnt need sufficent aid gare to help us reaching those places.
Jeez I don't know, cause it was sad. At least to me. Damn some of your people's callousness towards death amazes me anymore. Im sorry I bothered to post this.
Im sorry to see that the anniversary of this small petit little piss ass accident gets more attantion than really really pressing matters like famine in Africa and such
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Well it was kind of nearer to us I think. And at least I personally ama fan of the Space Program .... therefore that is a sad accident to me. I don't really care much for famines in Africa to be all honest.
I remember seeing it live on TV in elementary school with the rest of my class. Our English teacher wanted us to see it, and I saw the shuttle go up, with my first time seeing a launch and then it exploded like moments after launch. I didn't understand what had happened but I thought they would live. What I thought was happening, while parts of the shuttle were airborne, was that it was suppose to happen like that. I was more clueless than shocked.
I remember a few moments after the explosion my teacher held her mouth agape with both hands and let out a muffled "oh my god." Then she turned the TV off as my friend asked what happened. It was definitely a day to remember.
r.i.p C. Crew.
__________________ "The darkside, Sidious, is an illness no true Sith wishes to be cured of, my young apprentice .."
I didn't know it was the anniversary...And I would of loved to go into space just for the experience of it. I've already scuba'd into the sea. Still tragedies happen....too bad, sad. But you have to expect accidents to happen unfortunately...
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"Oh I Have Slipped
The Surly Bonds of Earth...
Put Out My Hand
And Touched the Face of God"
On 28 January 1986, in his TV broadcast to the nation on the day of the space shuttle Challenger disaster, President Reagan concluded: `We will never forget them this morning as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.'
Reagan was quoting `High Flight,' a sonnet written by John Gillespie Magee, a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War. He came to Britain, flew in a Spitfire squadron, and was killed at the age of nineteen on 11 December 1941 during a training flight from the airfield near Scopwick.
Reagan really did know how to communicate, that speech is one of the all time greats, I remember watching it truly moved on TV.
We must go back into Space properly.
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Families Mark Challenger 20th Anniversary
So tragic and so unnecessary.
Jan 29th, 2006 02:51 AM
