Just before noon on Jan. 28, 1986 - 30 years ago today - NASA’s Challenger shuttle exploded just after liftoff. All seven crewmembers, including a high school teacher, were killed.
As the shuttle left the launch pad, it was clear that something might be going wrong, notes The New York Times. It was televised around the country, so nearly everyone near a television saw the explosion. It’s a moment that few can forget where they were when they saw it happen.
The crew included Lt. Col. Ellison S. Onizuka; Cmdr. Michael J. Smith; high school teacher Christa McAuliffe; mission commander Francis R. Scobee; Gregory B. Jarvis; Ronald E. McNair; and Judith A. Resnik.
McAuliffe was set to make history as the first private American citizen in space. She was a Concord, New Hampshire teacher. Her husband, two children, her parents and students from Concord were in Florida to see the launch. So many more children saw the explosion than normally would have because schools around the country made sure to show the launch during classes.
McAuliffe left an unforgettable impression on her students. The Associated Press spoke with a few of them, who have gone on to become teachers themselves. Both of her children are teachers as well, but have stayed away from the limelight.
“The passage of 30 years since the Challenger accident is not of great personal significance to our family,” Steven McAuliffe, McAuliffe’s widower and a federal judge, told the Associated Press in a statement. “For us, Challenger will always be an event that occurred just recently. Our thoughts and memories of Christa will always be fresh and comforting.”
January and February are particularly tough months for NASA, which considers today a Day of Remembrance. On Jan. 27, 1967, three astronauts were killed during a pre-launch test flight for Apollo 1. The Columbia shuttle disaster was on Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven crewmembers.