SANDY KOZEL

Before and after shuttle explosion (first visible signs of
danger on left, just after explosion on right).

At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle
Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and
Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first
ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space.

McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher
from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her
a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger.

She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning
January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger‘s
launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather
and technical problems. Finally, on January 28, the shuttle lifted
off.

Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground,
including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the
shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire.

The Final Crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

President Ronald Reagan addressing the nation from the
White House on the day of the space shuttle Challenger explosion.