The Challenger Memorial Plaque featuring the likeness of the seven astronauts killed in the Challenger tragedy on Saturday, Jan. 28, 1986 is shown at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The White House Commission on Remembrance held the 20th anniversary remembrance ceremony on Jan. 28, 2006.
William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA, and Dr. June Scobee Rodgers, wife of Dick Scobee, space shuttle Challenger's commander, place a wreath at the base of the Space Mirror Memorial during a remembrance ceremony for the Challenger astronauts, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006, at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Lona Onizuka, widow of shuttle astronaut Ellison Onizuka and Jane Smith Wolcott, widow of space shuttle Challenger pilot Michael Smith stand at the base of the Space Mirror Memorial after a remembrance ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the accident that claimed the crew of space shuttle Challenger, Jan. 28, 2006 at the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Kati Lero of Port St. John, Fla., places a rose in the fence at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., after a remembrance ceremony for the space shuttle Challenger astronauts Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006. The ceremony marked the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.
Flowers and an American flag sit atop a memorial plaque at Sand Point Park in Titusville, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006. The plaque for Payload Specialist and teacher Christa McAuliffe is one of seven commemorating the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Twenty years ago, the shuttle blew apart into jets of fire and plumes of smoke, a terrifying sight witnessed by the families of the seven astronauts and onlookers.
Jarvis Junior-Senior High School students and teachers watch a presentation commemorating the space shuttle Challenger's explosion 20 years ago, Friday, Jan. 27, 2006, in Mohawk, N.Y. Gregory Jarvis was a 1962 graduate of Mohawk Central High School and a Challenger crew member. Numerous schools and buildings have been named after the crew members, keeping their spirit and legacy alive.
State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer touches a model of the space shuttle Challenger after it was unveiled Jan. 26, 2006, at the Christa McAuliffe Center in Framingham, Mass. The event was held to honor McAuliffe, in her hometown, and the other astronauts killed in the Jan. 28, 1986, Challenger explosion.
The memorial to the Challenger space shuttle astronauts in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., April 12, 2005.
Astronaut Janet Kavandi reacts to to the reading of a letter from the widow of Challenger astronaut Ron McNair during a rememberance gathering Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006, in Houston 20 years after the explosion of the space shuttle. NASA employees throughout the country paused on Thursday to rededicate themselves to space exploration.
Grace Corrigan, right, mother of teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, speaks with Sue Darnell-Ellis, of Kentucky, left, and Carolyn Dobbins, of Tenn., center, who were both in NASA's Teacher in Space Program with McAuliffe in 1985, after the showing of the documentary, "Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars," Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, at Framingham, Mass. State College, McAuliffe's alma mater.
Grace Corrigan, the mother of teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, wipes a tear away from her eye as her son, Christopher Corrigan, looks on during a remembrance Mass for McAuliffe and the crew of the space shuttle Challenger on the campus of Framingham State College in Framingham, Mass., Monday, Jan. 23, 2006. The Challenger crew died after the shuttle exploded shortly after takeoff on Jan. 28, 1986.
Stained glass artists work on one of three stained glass panels at Beardens Stained Glass Co. in Wichita, Kan., Jan. 17, 2006. The finished 8-by-12 foot piece pays tribute to the 17 astronauts who have lost their lives during NASA missions and is titled "Tribute to the Fallen Astronauts." It will be installed in the museum entrance at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, in mid February.
NASA administrator Michael Griffin gestures at the end of a news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., July 26, 2005, following the launch of space shuttle Discovery on a 12-day mission. Griffin has worked hard to restore confidence in the space agency in the aftermath of the Columbia and Challenger shuttle disasters.
A large piece of debris from the space shuttle Challenger washes up on Cocoa Beach, Fla., in December 1996, almost 11 years after it exploded after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986. The piece is believed to be part of an elevon or rudder. NASA recovered thousands of pounds of debris from the Atlantic Ocean; about 50 percent of the orbiter remained in the ocean after search operations were suspended.
The Challenger crewmember remains being transferred from seven hearse vehicles to a MAC C-141 transport plane at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility for transport to Dover Air Force Base, Del.
President Ronald Reagan tells a large crowd gathered on the central mall of the Johnson Space Center about the accomplishments and sacrifices of the Challenger crew during memorial services held following the Challenger accident on Jan. 28, 1986. "They slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God," the President said.
The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center Jan. 28, 1986. All seven crew members died in the explosion, which was blamed on faulty O-rings in the shuttle's booster rockets. The disaster shattered NASA's image and the belief that flying on a spacecraft could become as routine as flying on an airplane.
Classmates of the son of Christa McAuliffe, America's first school teacher to fly on a space shuttle mission, cheer as the space shuttle Challenger lifts skyward from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 28, 1986. Their delight soon turned into horror as the shuttle exploded 73 seconds into flight. The boy in the white hat and glasses at center is actor Peter Billingsley, a spokesperson for the young astronaut program.
Members of the STS 51-L crew designed this patch to represent their mission. The Challenger is depicted launching from Florida with a backdrop of Halley's comet against the U.S. flag. Surnames of the crewmembers encircle the scene, with the payload specialists being recognized below. The surname of the first teacher in space, S. Christa McAuliffe, is followed by a symbolic apple.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger. From left to right: Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and Judy Resnick. The space shuttle exploded shortly after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center Jan. 28, 1986. All seven crew members died in the explosion.