Just days after the 50th anniversary of the tragic accident that killed the Apollo 1 crew, NASA celebrated its annual Day of Remembrance. The day is intended to "honor members of the NASA family, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery."
Today, #NASARemembers all those who gave their lives to further the cause of exploration and discovery: https://t.co/MJDI2HWMzz pic.twitter.com/ZfbUqBI4GJ
— NASA (@NASA) January 31, 2017
2016 Space Exploration Was Enlightening And Kinda Weird
Jan. 27, 1967: The crew of Apollo 1 was killed when a fire broke out during a launch rehearsal.
- Virgil "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 - Jan. 27, 1967)
- Edward H. White II (Nov. 14, 1930 - Jan. 27,1967)
- Roger Chaffee (Feb. 15, 1935 - Jan. 27, 1967)
Jan. 28, 1986: The crew of the Challenger shuttle was killed when a booster engine failed and the shuttle broke apart just over a minute after launch.
- Francis "Dick" Scobee (May 19, 1939 - Jan. 28, 1986)
- Michael J. Smith (April 30, 1945 - Jan. 28, 1986)
- Judith A. Resnik (April 5, 1949 - Jan. 28, 1986)
- Ellison Onizuka (June 24, 1946 - Jan. 28, 1986)
- Ronald McNair (Oct. 21, 1950 - Jan. 28, 1986
- Gregory Jarvis (Aug. 24, 1944 - Jan. 28, 1986)
- Christa McAuliffe (Sept. 2, 1948 - Jan. 28, 1986)
Feb. 1, 2003: The crew of the Columbia shuttle was killed when the orbiter broke up upon re-entry. The shuttle was only 16 minutes from landing when Mission Control lost contact.
- Rick D. Husband (July 12, 1957 - Feb. 1, 2003)
- William C. McCool (Sept. 23, 1961 - Feb. 1, 2003)
- Michael P. Anderson (Dec. 25, 1959 - Feb. 1, 2003)
- David M. Brown (April 16, 1956 - Feb. 1, 2003)
- Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 - Feb. 1, 2003)
- Laurel Clark (March 10, 1961 - Feb. 1, 2003)
- Ilan Ramon (June 20, 1954 - Feb. 1, 2003)
See more from NASA about its Day of Remembrance.
