7th Anniversary of Explosion of Shuttle Challenger Marked
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Flags flew at half-staff and flowers adorned the astronauts’ memorial at the space center Thursday on the seventh anniversary of the shuttle Challenger explosion.
Challenger blew up 73 seconds after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members on board, including schoolteacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe. It remains America’s worst space disaster.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration planned no formal observances. On the first five anniversaries, space center workers halted their work at 11:38 a.m., the time of Challenger’s final liftoff, and observed 73 seconds of silence.
The Astronauts Memorial Foundation placed four floral bouquets at the base of the huge granite memorial Thursday. The pink, purple and yellow flowers honor not only the Challenger seven but the three astronauts who died in a launch pad fire on Jan. 27, 1967, and six other men who have died in accidents related to training or other duties since 1964.
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