FOCUS ON...SHUTTLE CHALLENGER

For me, it's been over a half-a-life-ago. I can't believe I was just 24 when the Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off on this day in 1986. It was a cold day at Cape Kennedy and from information I have acquired through the years (I worked with a NASA engineer during my career), many at NASA were against liftoff that day.

Today, for the first time in many years, I watched video of the disaster. It's strange but there was part of me that still had hope that the incident wouldn't happen. But, of course it did, and so I relived the sadness of the moment.

On this 25th Anniversary of this tragedy, I salute the Challenger crew - and every crew that has dared to venture into space. Godspeed!

1. Remembering Challenger. [CNN]
2. NASA remembers Challenger, vows to advance in space. [Reuters]
3. Challenger: 25 years later, a still painful wound. [Associated Press]
4. How the Challenger Tragedy Gripped the Nation: A 'Perfect Storm' of Events. [AOL News on Politics Daily]



5. Challenger explosion: How President Reagan responded. [The Christian Science Monitor]
6. Christa McAuliffe: How the Space Shuttle Challenger victim has been Memorialized. [AOL News]
7. Readers' moving Memories of Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. [The Huffington Post]
8. The Challenger Shuttle 25 Years Later: A photo chronicle. [Time]



Learn More About The Challenger Disaster - Add This DVD To Your Collection:
ABC News Classics Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster