On January 28, 1986, Americans across the country took a break from their work, or from class, and found their way to a television to watch the space shuttle Challenger take off from Cape Canaveral. Seventy-three seconds later, the nation gave a united gasp as the shuttle exploded like firework across the bright blue sky (main) – killing all seven astronauts on board. Today, on the 30th anniversary of the disaster, family members of the doomed crew gathered at the Kennedy Space Center to pay tribute to the brave explorers lost in the explosion, including Scott McAuliffe (circled top right on Thursday and bottom right with his family), the son of teacher Christa McAuliffe, who won her place on the spaceship. Scott was just eight when his mother died. Christa's sister Betsy and their parents were photographed reacting in horror as the shuttle exploded (inset top) three decades ago. READ MORE: The day America's space dream almost died: Son of hero teacher who died alongside six other astronauts leads families in marking the 30th anniversary of the Challenger explosion
It is saddening to read such blog posts. Those people really sacrificed their lives for the greater benefit of mankind