By Lynn Hatter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-949014.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Twenty-five years ago the space shuttle Challenger exploded- killing six astronauts and a school teacher on its way into space. Friday, people gathered at the challenger learning center in Tallahassee to remember the disaster and focus on its impact on their lives and the future of the country.
During the ceremony County Commissioner Gil Ziffer says the Challenger crew's efforts have not been and will not be forgotten.
"I think, and I hope that we're all going to be challenged to dream a lot more. Which is in a sense, what we're trying to do here at the Challenger learning center in recognition of what happened 25 years ago. And that is to get all these young people that are here to dream about what could be- not what they could get or what they could have, but what could be that we may not have now."
The Challenger was not the first nor last space mission to end tragically. January 27th 1961 a fire in the cabin killed the crew of Apollo 1. February 1st 2003 the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry.