By MARCIA DUNN, Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Families of the astronauts lost in the space shuttle Challenger accident gathered back at the launch site Thursday to mark that tragic day 40 years ago.
All seven on board were killed when Challenger broke apart following liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.
At the Kennedy Space Center memorial ceremony, Challenger pilot Michael Smith’s daughter, Alison Smith Balch, said through tears that her life forever changed that frigid morning, as did many other lives. “In that sense,” she told the hundreds of mourners, “we are all part of this story.”
“Every day I miss Mike,” added his widow, Jane Smith-Holcott, “every day’s the same.”
A memorial wreath is seen at the Astronaut Memorial during NASA’s Day of Remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Veteran astronaut, Bob Cabana, left, makes remarks during NASA’s Day of Remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Jane Smith-Wolcott, center, widow of Challenger pilot Michael Smith and daughter Alison Smith Balch put flowers on a memorial during NASA’s Day of Remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Veteran astronaut, Bob Cabana, makes remarks during NASA’s Day of Remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Show Caption1 of 4A memorial wreath is seen at the Astronaut Memorial during NASA’s Day of Remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux) ExpandThe bitter cold weakened the O-ring seals in Challenger’s right solid rocket booster, causing the shuttle to rupture 73 seconds after liftoff. A dysfunctional culture at NASA contributed to that disaster and, 17 years later, shuttle Columbia’s.
Kennedy Space Center’s deputy director Kelvin Manning said those humble and painful lessons require constant vigilance “now more than ever” with rockets soaring almost every day and the next astronaut moonshot just weeks away.
Challenger’s crew included schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who was selected from thousands of applicants representing every state. Two of her fellow teacher-in-space contenders — both retired now — attended the memorial.
“We were so close together,” said Bob Veilleux, a retired astronomy high school teacher from New Hampshire, McAuliffe’s home state.
Related Articles
Immigration officials allow suspect in $100M jewelry heist to self deport, avoiding trial A Kentucky cathedral called ‘America’s Notre Dame’ gets a rehab, gargoyles and all Uvalde officer’s acquittal shifts focus to the next case over police response to attack Under Armour looking into data breach affecting customers’ email addresses Former Iowa superintendent pleads guilty to falsely claiming US citizenshipBob Foerster, a sixth grade math and science teacher from Indiana who was among the top 10 finalists, said he’s grateful that space education blossomed after the accident and that it didn’t just leave Challenger’s final crew as “martyrs.”
“It was a hard reality,” Foerster noted at the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy’s visitor complex.
Twenty-five names are carved into the black mirror-finished granite: the Challenger seven, the seven who perished in the Columbia disaster on Feb. 1, 2003, the three killed in the Apollo 1 fire on Jan. 27, 1967, and all those lost in plane and other on-the-job accidents.
Relatives of the fallen Columbia and Apollo crews also attended NASA’s Day of Remembrance, held each year on the fourth Thursday of January. The space agency also held ceremonies at Virginia’s Arlington National Cemetery and Houston’s Johnson Space Center.
“You always wonder what they could have accomplished” had they lived longer, Lowell Grissom, brother of Apollo 1 commander Gus Grissom, said at Kennedy. “There was a lot of talent there.”
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Hence then, the article about nasa and families of fallen astronauts mark 40th anniversary of space shuttle challenger accident was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( NASA and families of fallen astronauts mark 40th anniversary of space shuttle Challenger accident )
Also on site :