Today, January 28, marks the 25th anniversary of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. Back in 1986, the Challenger came apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik.

Although the exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown, according to Wikipedia, "several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft. However, since the shuttle had no inside escape system, "the astronauts did not survive the impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface."

Since Christa McAuliffe was the first member of the Teacher in Space Project, many of us watched the Regean-era Challenger disaster live. Some have even called it this generation's JFK shooting, if you will, since we remember where we were when it happened. (Us? We we were, like many, in class watching it live. Our teacher broke down in tears for five or so minutes after it happened. The school principal dismissed class early that day.)

Where were you in 1986 during the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster?