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28 January 2011
Last updated at 11:08 ET
Nasa officials have gathered at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to mark the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger explosion, which killed seven astronauts after lift-off.
Special guests at the Cape Canaveral visitor's complex include the widow of Challenger's commander.
The event comes one day after a national day of remembrance for those who died in the 1986 incident.
Flags flew at half-mast at Nasa centres across the country on Thursday.
June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of the doomed vessel's commander, **** Scobee, spoke at the event on Friday morning, saying the "entire world knew how the Challenger crew died".
"We wanted the world to know how they lived and for what they were risking their lives," Ms Rodgers said.
Ms Rodgers played an important role in establishing the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, which has 48 learning centres.
Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch at an altitude of 14,000 metres (46,000ft), killing all on board.
Sombre memorial "The legacy of those who have perished is present every day... and inspires generations of new space explorers," Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden said at a memorial service on Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Mr Bolden laid a wreath at the memorial to the seven astronauts, Commander Francis Scobee, Pilot Michael Smith, Mission Specialists Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Payload Specialists Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.
"Every day, with each new challenge we overcome and every discovery we make, we honour these remarkable men and women," Mr Bolden said.
On 28 January, 1986, the Challenger was on a mission - STS 51L in the official record - to deploy two satellites. It broke up after launch over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Investigators later determined a sealing ring had failed in cold weather, allowing pressurised hot gas to leak from one of the rocket boosters and eventually to breach the external fuel tank.
The mission was notable because it carried for the first time a teacher, Ms McAuliffe.
A total of 24 people have been killed while supporting the space agency's mission since 1964, Nasa said.
Among these deaths, seven astronauts died aboard the Columbia shuttle in 2003 when it disintegrated upon re-entry to Earth due to a damaged heat shield.
Three people also died aboard the Apollo 1 in 1967 after a fire during a launch pad test.
Fourteen people died in other incidents while working for the programme.
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Special guests at the Cape Canaveral visitor's complex include the widow of Challenger's commander.
The event comes one day after a national day of remembrance for those who died in the 1986 incident.
Flags flew at half-mast at Nasa centres across the country on Thursday.
June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of the doomed vessel's commander, **** Scobee, spoke at the event on Friday morning, saying the "entire world knew how the Challenger crew died".
"We wanted the world to know how they lived and for what they were risking their lives," Ms Rodgers said.
Ms Rodgers played an important role in establishing the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, which has 48 learning centres.
Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch at an altitude of 14,000 metres (46,000ft), killing all on board.
Sombre memorial "The legacy of those who have perished is present every day... and inspires generations of new space explorers," Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden said at a memorial service on Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Mr Bolden laid a wreath at the memorial to the seven astronauts, Commander Francis Scobee, Pilot Michael Smith, Mission Specialists Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Payload Specialists Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.
"Every day, with each new challenge we overcome and every discovery we make, we honour these remarkable men and women," Mr Bolden said.
On 28 January, 1986, the Challenger was on a mission - STS 51L in the official record - to deploy two satellites. It broke up after launch over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Investigators later determined a sealing ring had failed in cold weather, allowing pressurised hot gas to leak from one of the rocket boosters and eventually to breach the external fuel tank.
The mission was notable because it carried for the first time a teacher, Ms McAuliffe.
A total of 24 people have been killed while supporting the space agency's mission since 1964, Nasa said.
Among these deaths, seven astronauts died aboard the Columbia shuttle in 2003 when it disintegrated upon re-entry to Earth due to a damaged heat shield.
Three people also died aboard the Apollo 1 in 1967 after a fire during a launch pad test.
Fourteen people died in other incidents while working for the programme.
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