20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE "CHALLENGER" DISASTER

I still remember the physical shock I felt 20 years ago when I watched the explosion of the spacecraft Challenger on TV. All of America hoped against hope that the astronauts had somehow jettisoned in time, or that their space suits would have miraculously protected them--but it was not to be. It was a wake-up call to all of us that the "routine" space missions were, in fact, still very dangerous. The NASA site for the Challenger STS 51-L Accident has more information. Several memorials have been established in honor of the 7 astronauts; one is at Arlington National Cemetery and another is at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. There is also one on Mars.