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This is the official NASA photo of the crew of the space shuttle Challenger mission 51L. All seven members of the crew were killed when the shuttle exploded during launch on Jan. 28, 1986. From front left, are: astronauts Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, and Ronald E. McNair. Rear left are: Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith Resnik. (AP Photo/Files) ( CHALLENGER ANNIVERSARY )

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) ( Challenger Anniversary McAuliffe )

The crew of Space Shuttle 51-L walks out from their quarters en route to the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger early Tuesday morning for a 2nd attempt at launch. Credit: AP Laserphoto

The shuttle Challenger rises on a pillar of flame, just moments before exploding in a ball of fire on Jan. 28, 1986. All 7 astronauts aboard were killed. UPI be/Bill Mitchell

The Space Shuttle 51L crew is shown during simulation at the Johnson Space Center before their ill fated flight. (LtoR) Mike Smith Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik and commander Franis R. (Dick) Scobee. The other three members of the crew would be seated on a lower deck during takeoff. Denver Post Library Archive

Challenger explosion. UPI

The two solid rocket boosters can be seen (Top Right) exploding away from the Shuttle Challenger shortly after blastoff 1/28 in the worst disaster in American space history. Denver Post Library Archive

A giant fire ball engulfs the Space Shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986 as the two solid rocket boosters continue their flight high above Cape Canaveral, killing the crew of seven. Denver Post Library Archive

NASA handout photo showing Francis "Dick" Scobee, commander of the Space shuttle Challenger, who died in the shuttle explosion Tuesday. Scobee, 46, was born in Cle Elum, Wash, and graduated from Auburn High School in 1957. 1986 Credit: AP Laserphoto

Crewmembers of the space shuttle Challenger posed for this gag photo last Fall when space teacher Christa McAuliffe was accepted into the space program. Wearing graduation caps and dressed as grade students are-(clockwise from Bottom Left) - Ellison Onizuka, Michael smith, Ronald McNair, Christa McAuliffe, backup teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan, Francis Scobee and Judy Resnick. This was before Gregory Jarvis joined the crew. Credit: UPI

The crew for the space shuttle Challenger have breakfast Monday morning at the Kennedy Space Center. From left are Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka, Mission Specialist Judy Resnick, Pilot Michel Smith, Commander Francis Scobee, Mission Specialist Ronald McNair, Payload Specialist Gregory Jarvis and teacher Christa McAuliffe. The Challenger is scheduled to be launched later today. Denver Post Library Archive

The liftoff of the Space Shuttle Challenger on Oct. 30, 1985, a few months before it would explode with 7 crew members inside, is reflected in a ditch of water near the launch complex Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission has a crew of eight and is scheduled to be in space for seven days.

The space shuttle Challenger as it blasted into space from Kennedy Space Center. Denver Post Library Archive

This early production model of the shuttle's external tank is on display at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The tank which holds 224,000 pounds of liquid hydrogen in the rear portion, 1,332,000 pounds of liquid oxygen in the container at right. Two people visible in the center of the two sections are dwarfed by the tanks 154.2 feet length and 27.5 feet diameter. When fully loaded the tank is the largest and heaviest element of the Shuttle weight is 1,638,565 pounds. Denver Post Library Archive

Inside the External Tank -- Engineers inspect the inside of a 500,000-gallon external tank to the space shuttle, manufactured for Nasa by the Martin Marietta Corp. At Nasa's Michoud assembly plant in New Orleans on Jan. 30, 1986. Aluminum "slosh baffles" line the tank to help balance the liquid oxygen fuel. The tank exploded during the space shuttle Challenger liftoff Tuesday. Denver Post Library Archive

The space shuttle Challenger is shown under construction at the Palmdale Final Assembly Facility in Palmdale, Ca., in 1981. The crew module, shown in place in the chassis of the shuttle, was reported found on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean last week with the remains of at least some of the seven astronauts killed in the January explosion during launch still inside. Denver Post Library Archive

The Space Shuttle Challenger sits in front of the hanger at the Rockwell International Facility on June 40, 1982 at "turnover" ceremonies when the manufacturer, Rockwell, turned the then new vehicle over to NASA. The Shuttle was destroyed 1/28/86 in an apparent explosion shortly after launch. Denver Post Library Archive

Fifth-grader Austin Montgomery photographs an exhibit at the "Rocket Garden" at the Kennedy Space Center during a tour Saturday. Montomery was on a class field trip from Colordo to see the Challenger launch in January 1986. Karl Gehring, The Denver Post

The Challenger space shuttle in April of 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

The parents of teacher astronaut Christa McAuliffe, Edward and Grace Corrigan of Framingham, Mass., bundled up against the chilly windy weather at the VIP area at Kennedy Space Center look out towards launch pad 39b through high powered binoculars. McAuliffe perished in the Challenger explosion along with the other 6 crew members aboard the flight. Denver Post Library Archive

A Lockheed employe at the Kennedy Space Center watches as the space shuttle Challenger explodes in the air. A crew of seven died in the tragedy including teacher astronaut Christa McAuliffe. Denver Post Library Archive

Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on January 28, 1986. Karl Gehring, The Denver Post

The parents of teacher astronaut Christa McAuliffe, Edward and Grace Corrigan hold hands as they watch the launch of space shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986 at the Kennedy Space Center VIP area. Christa's sister Lisa Bristol (L) has her mouth agape as the orbiter lifts off. Denver Post Library Archive

Spectators at the Kennedy Space Center VIP area react to the explosion of the Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. The space shuttle exploded some seventy-two seconds after ignition, all aboard perished. Denver Post Library Archive

Two solid rocket boosters twist away from the explosion of space shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. Debris from the orbiter falls to the ground. Denver Post Library Archive

Betsy Corrigan, sister of Christa McAuliffe, reacts as she watches the Space Shuttle Challenger explode at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Tuesday, Jan. 28th, 1986. Behind Corrigan are Christa's parents Grace Corrigan (right) and father Ed. Denver Post Library Archive

An unidentified man consoles the parents of astronaut-teacher, Christa McAuliffe after she and 6 other astronauts were presumed killed in an explosion that ripped apart Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

Wednesday morning newspapers heading the American Space Shuttle disaster in London, Jan. 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

Japan's four major newspapers devoted their next-day front pages to the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger that took place shortly after lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The explosion killed all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe on Jan. 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

People watch the memorial ceremony for the crew members killed in the Challenger explosion broadcast from Houston on Jan. 31, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

Students at Marian High School in Framingham, Mass., appear stunned as they watch a telecast of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1986. Space schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who died with the rest of the crew in the disaster, was a Framingham native and a 1966 graduate of the high school. Denver Post Library Archive

A third grade student of Christa McAuliffe leaves Kimball Elementary School with her mother after being reunited upon her return from Cape Canaveral after watching her teacher take-off on the ill rated space shuttle Challenger on late Jan. 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

James F. Harrington III, Shuttle Launch Flow Director, right, is escorted to the Astronaut van by security guard Elizabeth Kohlbrand Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center. Harrington carries a wreath which he later dropped into the Atlantic Ocean at the spot the Challenger crashed at 11:39 A.M on Jan. 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

Workers and their families at the Kennedy Space Center stream past a Saturn 5 rocket on their way to a memorial service on Feb. 1, 1986 for the 7 astronauts that were killed aboard the shuttle Challenger. Denver Post Library Archive

An unidentified worker at the Kennedy Space Center wipes a tear from his eye as a youngster leans on his back during the memorial services on Feb.2, 1986 for the 7 astronauts that were killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 72 seconds after blasting off from here. Denver Post Library Archive

Claude Onizuke, brother of astronaut Elison Onizuka, comforts the astronaut's widow Lorna Onizuka during a memorial for the seven dead astronauts on Jan. 31, 1986 at the Johnson Space Center is Houston. Daughter of the astronaut Janelle Onizuka, sits on the right. Denver Post Library Archive

President Reagan comforts Alison Smith, the daughter of mission 51-L pilot Michael Smith at Friday's memorial service in Houston for the challenger astronauts killed Tuesday in the post-launch explosion. Beside Alison is her sister, Erin. Denver Post Library Archive

Children are comforted Tuesday night while listening to officials at Kimball School in Concord, N.H., after classmates of Scott McAuliffe, Christa McAuliffe's son, returned from Cape Canaveral, Fla., where they earlier witnessed the liftoff and explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Denver Post Library Archive

Motorists en route to work Wednesday morning passed this sign in memory of the Space Shuttle Challenger which exploded shortly after liftoff Tuesday killing the crew of seven. Denver Post Library Archive

Flags near the Washington Monument stand at half-staff Wednesday in the aftermath of the space shuttle Challenger accident that killed a crew of seven on Jan. 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

A Kennedy Space Center security guard lowers the flag to half mast at the press center on Jan. 28, 1986 in memory of the seven astronauts that perished aboard space shuttle Challenger. Launch pad 39B where the orbiter lifted off can be seen in the background. Denver Post Library Archive

Christa McAuliffe's next-door neighbor, Jeanne Timmons, 14, was in algebra class when she was told the space shuttle Challenger had blown up. The inscription above the photograph of McAulliffe and colleague reads, "To Jeanne, May your future be limited only by your dreams, Love Christa." Denver Post Library Archive

Lt. Commander Jim Simpson, center, briefs the media on the operations of Coast Guard ships search the Atlantic Ocean off of the Kennedy Space Center for debris from the Space Shuttle Challenger which exploded shortly after liftoff Tuesday. Denver Post Library Archive

A piece of debris from the Space Shuttle Challenger, lower left, is towed to the Coast Guard cutter Dallas off the coast of Florida. Denver Post Library Archive

A large section of the fuselage measuring about 4-ft-by-6-ft floats in the Atlantic about 55 miles southeast of Daytona Beach, Fla. on Jan. 31, 1986. The heat-shielding tiles that protect the shuttle upon re-entry can easily been seen. Denver Post Library Archive

Coast guardsmen retrieve debris from the Space Shuttle Challenger off the coast of Florida. Denver Post Library Archive

The Stena Work horse heads to port Canaveral late Wednesday evening with debris of the Space Shuttle challenger which is believed to be parts of the right solid rocket booster. The debris (shown at rear of ship covered in white) is from the right solid rocket booster. Nasa hopes to answers important questions on the explosion on Mission 51-L which was launched Jan. 28th with a crew of seven. Denver Post Library Archive

Coast Guardsmen prepare to hoist a portion of the payload door of the space shuttle Challenger onto the deck of the Coast Guard cutter Dallas during salvage operations off the Florida coast during the last week of January. Denver Post Library Archive

Crewmen aboard the USS Preserver, a U.S. Navy salvage ship, hoist aboard what is believed to be the remains of the solid rocket propellant cases of the inertial upper stage. The IUS was carried in the cargo of the Challenger. Denver Post Library Archive

Workers remove a large section of the space shuttle Challenger from the USCG Cutter Dallas. Being lowered is the right lower section of the forward fuselage that surrounded a portion of the crew compartment. On deck is what is believed to be another portion of the fuselage. Denver Post Library Archive

Workmen off load the front section of the Space Shuttle Challenger Thursday night at Port Canaveral, Fla. This picture was released by Nasa Saturday a the Kennedy Space Center. 1986

Coast Guard crewmen loaded date buoys Wednesday at the Coast Guard Station in Port Canaveral. The buoys were taken to the area of impact in the Atlantic Ocean where the debris from the Space Shuttle is believed to have fallen. Denver Post Library Archive

The military and a county sheriff examine debris thought to be from the space shuttle Challenger found off Cocoa Beach on Jan. 29, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

Workers unload a 10 by 20 foot piece of shuttle Challenger's right hand solid rocket booster on April 15, 1986 at Port Canaveral. The piece of SRB is believed to be at the joint where burn-through occurred dooming the Challenger. Denver Post Library Archive

National Transportation Safety Board investigator John White kneels in front of the nose cone of the Challenger's right solid rocket booster. The right solid rocket booster is suspected by investigators of contributing to the explosion of Challenger on January 28th, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

Large portions of the Space Shuttle Challenger's three main engines have been recovered from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean by salvage crews. They are shown in a storage facility at Complex 39 on the Kennedy Space Center in this photograph released by Nasa late Thursday afternoon.

In a photo from the January issue of Life magazine, about half of the Challenger, including an engine (foreground), lies in a Florida warehouse. The seven-month search for the debris involved 6,000 workers, 31 ships and 52 aircraft combing 93,000 square miles of the Atlantic. Life (c) Enrico Ferorelli/Dot.

Nasa released this photo showing a 9'7" by 16 segment of Challenger's right wing. The wreckage was brought in to Port Canaveral by the USS Opportune. The wreckage was recovered from under 70 feet of water about 12 nautical miles northeast of Cape Canaveral.

A security guard at Kennedy Space Center stands guard near the space shuttle Challenger's main engine bell Wednesday, April 1, 1986. The media was shown the wreckage of the Challenger for the first time today, following the January 28 explosion which took the lives of all seven astronauts. Denver Post Library Archive

Jesse Moore, director of the Johnson Space Center and associate administrator for space flight at the time of the ill-fated launch of the Challenger testifies at the State Department in Washington before the presidential commission investigating the space shuttle Challenger explosion. Credit: AP Laserphoto

Jesse Moore, chief of NASA's space shuttle program, answers reporters ' questions during a news conference 1/29 where he refused to speculate on the cause of the tragic Challenger explosion 1/28. Credit: UPI

William Rogers, chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, left, swears in members of the commission on Feb. 6, 1986 at The National Academy of Sciences in Washington. From left are Rogers; Neil Armstrong; Dr. Sally Ride; Robert Rummel; Maj. Gen. Donald Kutyna; Dr. Arthur D.C. Walker Jr.; Joseph Suher; David Acheson; Richard Feynman; Dr. Albert Wheelon; and Robert Hotz. Credit: AP Laserphoto

The Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident walk in front of two solid rocket boosters and the external tank being fitted in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2986. The commission is at KSC following the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28th to try and determine the cause. Denver Post Library Archive

Jesse Moore, associate NASA administrator (R), points to a model of a space shuttle as David Winterhalter, director of NASA's propulsion division, looks on during the first day of a Congressional hearing into the shuttle Challenger's January explosion on Feb. 18, 1986. Credit: UPI

Astronaut Sally Ride, a member of the presidential commission on the space shuttle Challenger accident asks a question during a hearing at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 26, 1986. Credit: AP Laserphoto

This photo released by Nasa shows a burned area that proves the burn-through of the solid rocket booster was at the joint on the Space Shuttle Challenger. This piece, which weighs approximately 1,800 to 2,000 lbs. and measures 6ft by 10ft. The numbers indicate the location in degrees where the burned section begins and ends. This section was found in 600 ft of water by the Stena Workhorse on April 28, 1986. Denver Post Library Archive

An ice buildup on the launch structure around the Space Shuttle caused another delay in the launch on Jan. 28, 1986. Water was allowed to run, as a safety precaution, on the launch tower because of freezing temperature in the area the previous night. It was feared ice could fall onto the shuttle during launch causing damage to the spacecraft. Denver Post Library Archive

Ice which formed on launch Pad 39-B on the night of January 27th before the ill-fated launch of the space shuttle Challenger is visible in this picture taken just prior to launch by the ice inspection team. The picture shows one of the many communications terminals on the launch pad itself, the terminal was reported to be non-operational. Denver Post Library Archive

Icicles on the Challenger's launch pad on the morning of the ill-fated launch in this photo taken by a the Nasa ice inspection team. The icicles are on hand rails and the support structure. The shuttle, external fuel tank and left hand solid rocket booster motor are visible in the background. This is one of the pictures which the presidential commission investigating the disaster used in their investigations. Denver Post Library Archive

Laurin Intermediates School seventh grade teacher Mike Murray of Battle Ground, Wash., who was a finalist in the contest to choose a teacher for the Challenger space shuttle flight, holds a model of the shuttle as he tries to explain to his class Tuesday why the shuttle exploded killing seven crew members, including the first teacher in space. 1986 Credit: AP Laserphoto

Congressmen Bill Nelson speaks to a crowd of about 100 people during the official dedication of the "Challenger 7 Miami Memorial" at Chopin Plaza at Bayfront Park in Miami. Saturday is third anniversary of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger that claimed the lives of seven astronauts. Denver Post Library Archive

Lorna Onizuka (left), widow of astronaut Ellison Onizuka, and Colorado University faculty member Dr. Thomas Ayres view a pyramid-shaped memorial representing the sun, following dedication ceremonies Tuesday afternoon, May 1, 1987. The Colorado Scale Model Solar System is dedicated in memory of Ellison Onizuka, a University of Colorado alumnus, and his six crew mates of the space shuttle Challenger. The memorial is located on the C.U. campus. Mike Lang, Denver Post Library Archive

Midori Fujimoto places a lei at the memorial to honor the seven space shuttle Challenger astronauts during a ceremony to dedicate the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery on April 1, 1987. Vice President Bush addressed the gathering recalling a "dark moment for America" and saying that Americans should honor the seven astronauts by renewing the U.S. Denver Post Library Archive

June Scobee, widow of Challenger commander Francis R. Scobee, places flowers at her husband's grave in Arlington National Cemetery on May 19, 1986. Credit: UPI

5/31/1986, JUN 2 1986 The remains of astronaut Ellison Onizuka , who was killed along with six others in the Jan. 28 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, were returned to his native island of Hawaii on May 31, 1986. His relatives walk behind the flag-draped casket. Onizuka, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, will be buried Monday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. Credit: UPI