Photos: Challenger explosion, Jan. 28, 1986

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Photos: Challenger explosion, Jan. 28, 1986

Photos recalling the Challenger space shuttle disaster, 30 years after it happened on Jan. 28, 1986.

ASTRONAUT CREW: This 1986 file photo provided by NASA shows the crew of the space shuttle Challenger, from left, Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and Judith Resnik. The shuttle exploded 30 years ago on Jan. 28, 1986. (AP Photo/NASA)

In this 1985 photo, high school teacher Christa McAuliffe rides with her children Caroline, left, and Scott during a parade down Main Street in Concord, N.H. McAuliffe was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

In this 1985 photo, high school teacher Christa McAuliffe gives a thumbs-up during a parade down Main Street in Concord, N.H. McAuliffe was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

This photo provided by NASA, shows a portrait of New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe, who was aboard space shuttle Challenger Jan. 28, 1986, when the vehicle exploded shortly after liftoff at the Kennedy Space Center. (AP Photo/Nasa)

Tributes to Astronaut Ronald McNair are scattered across metropolitan Atlanta, especially in DeKalb County, where three schools bear his name. His brother Carl McNair, who lives in Atlanta, started McNair Achievement Programs and the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Foundation, which allows hundreds of students annually to learn through STEM-based activities at summer camps.

Crew members of the space shuttle Challenger walk from their quarters at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., enroute to the launchpad Jan. 28, 1986. Challenger exploded moments into the launch, killing all seven of the crew, including, from front: pilot Mike Smith, school teacher Christa McAuliffe, mission specialist Ellison Onizuka and payload specialist Gregory Jarvis. (AP Photo/Files)

Space Shuttle Challenger crew members including Ronald McNair, far right, are seen at the Kennedy Space Center in January 1986. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

In this Jan. 27, 1986 file picture, the crew members of space shuttle Challenger flight 51-L, leave their quarters for the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. From foreground are commander Francis Scobee, Mission Spl. Judith Resnik, Mission Spl. Ronald McNair, Payload Spl. Gregory Jarvis, Mission Spl. Ellison Onizuka, teacher Christa McAuliffe and pilot Michael Smith. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

This Jan. 28, 1986 photo provided by NASA shows icicles on hand rails of the space shuttle Challenger's service structure on the morning of its final launch from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The cold weather affected O-ring seals on a solid rocket booster, causing the explosion during launch. (AP Photo/NASA)

In this Jan. 28, 1986 picture, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. shortly before it exploded with a crew of seven aboard. (AP Photo/Thom Baur)

In this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, (shown individually in following frames) the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

In the first photo in this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

In the second in this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

In the third of this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

In the fourth of this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

In the fifth of this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

In this final photo in this series of Jan. 28, 1986 photos, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. A family from Michigan watches the explosion from Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

Picture taken 28 January 1986 showing the solid fuel rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger starting to explode over Kennedy Space Center. The US space shuttle exploded seconds after lift-off, killing it crew of seven. Challenger was 72 seconds into its flight, travelling at nearly 2,000 mph at a height of ten miles, when it was suddenly envelope in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded. AFP PHOTO BOB PEARSON (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP/Getty Images)

The space shuttle 'Challenger' malfunctions shortly after take-off, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members, 28th January 1986. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

This file photo shows a portion of the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle on Jan. 28, 1986 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The seven crew members perished in the explosion. One of the shuttle's booster rockets, whose faulty O-rings were blamed for the disaster, shoots off to the right. (AP Photo/NASA)

In this Jan. 28, 1986 file photo, the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Bruce Weaver, File)

A solid fuel rocket booster disappears behind the contrail of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger 28 January 1986 over Kennedy Space Center as debris from the orbiter begins to fall to earth. The US space shuttle exploded seconds after lift-off, killing it crew of seven. Challenger was 72 seconds into its flight, travelling at nearly 2,000 mph at a height of ten miles, when it was suddenly envelope in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded. AFP PHOTO BOB PEARSON (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Contrails and puffs of smoke left in the sky from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

In this Jan. 28, 1986 file picture, spectators at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. react after they witnessed the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. (AP Photo/File)

This Jan. 28, 1986 file picture shows U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office of the White House after a televised address to the nation about the space shuttle Challenger explosion. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

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ASTRONAUT CREW: This 1986 file photo provided by NASA shows the crew of the space shuttle Challenger, from left, Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and Judith Resnik. The shuttle exploded 30 years ago on Jan. 28, 1986. (AP Photo/NASA)

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