Astronauts Nicole Stott and Charles Bolden Each Recall the Moment They Witnessed the Challenger Tragedy

Mar. 15, 2025

Astronauts Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ronald E. McNair (front); and Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik.Photo: Getty

The1986 Space Shuttle Challengerexplosion is a tragedy that defined a generation.

Astronaut Nicole Stott was one of many students who were watching. In her case, she was close enough to get outside for the launch.

“I was in Daytona Beach, just up the road from the Kennedy Space Center, and we went outside and watched,” she recalls in the Generation X portion of the new four-part NBC News Studio documentary,My Generation.

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At the Kennedy Space Center, countless officials from NASA also watched as the space shuttle Challenger embarked on its 10th milestone launch.

Charles Bolden Jr., who piloted the Space Shuttle Columbiaearlier that year and would later return to space three more times, watched from a conference room in the NASA building.

“About 73 seconds into flight, we saw what looked like an explosion but we couldn’t really tell,” he recalls.

Official portrait of Astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr.NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)

The explosion confused many who were watching, including Stott and her classmates. “Nothing was continuing to space. I knew that something wasn’t right,” she says.

The tragedy claimed the life of shuttle commander Dick Scobee and the six other astronauts who joined him: Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian in space.

After the accident, the families were ushered into the crew quarters to await further news. It was there that the Scobee family made a discovery that would change the rest of their lives.

“My dad’s briefcase was in his room,” Kathie Scobee Fulgham told PEOPLE in January 2016, which marked the 30th anniversary of the tragedy. “Mom opened it. Among his personal belongings: a wallet, his keys, pictures of his family, shuttle souvenir pins, business cards, astronomy charts, flight manuals and an unsigned Valentine’s Day card for my mom.”

These days, more than 40Challenger Centersexist across the country, giving children a hands-on education in space exploration while honoring the late crew’s legacy.

source: people.com