US remembers fallen astronauts 20 years after Challenger disaster

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2006

CAPE CANAVERAL, United States (AFP) — Americans paid tribute to the seven astronauts killed in the Challenger disaster in an emotional ceremony 20 years after the space shuttle blew up over Cape Canaveral, Florida.

NASA officials and the astronauts' families were joined at the Kennedy Space Center here by dozens of visitors to remember the crew members whose fiery deaths on January 28, 1986 shocked the country.

"It is a beautiful day here," June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Challenger pilot Francis "Dick" Scobee, said on a sunny yet windy Saturday, in front of a black granite monument bearing the names of the 24 astronauts who have died since 1964.

Scobee Rodgers, who delivered the main speech, said her late husband was aware of the potential danger he faced...