Challenger Center remembers astronauts on 39th anniversary of disaster
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- 39 years ago on Tuesday, America lost seven astronauts after the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded shortly after a launch.
The legacy of those astronauts is still felt today, including right here in Chattanooga at the Challenger Learning Center on the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga’s campus.
It is one of 33 established across the country by the surviving family members of the astronauts who perished.
The goal of these centers is to serve as a unique educational environment for students to learn about STEM-related subjects.
On Tuesday as an example, a group of third graders learned a lot about how a space mission is carried out in a simulation where they dropped a rover on Mars.
They learned inside the replicas of spacecrafts which allows students to simulate what it is like for astronauts to make critical decisions that led to success or failure during their missions.
The group of surviving family member who established these centers include June Scobee Rodgers.
She is the widow of the lead commander of the Challenger mission, Dick Scobee.
She recalled the moment they decided to create these centers, at a meeting inside of her Houston home a month after the disaster.
Rodgers recalls, “I said to them, “This is so sad, this is so sad for our country. What can we do to bring a positive out of this terrible tragedy?””
She says the center has gone on to provide comfort and inspiration.
Rodgers said, “Every anniversary, I go to one of these Challenger Learning Centers, because it makes me so happy to see that the mission continues. These children are learning so much. They are our future scientists.”
She knows the seven who left the surly bonds of this earth, including Dick Scobee, would have loved what these centers will continue to provide to students.
Rodgers said, “If Dick Scobee was a kid, and one of these centers was in his hometown, he would be here single time the door was open to go in, because he loved anything to do with airplanes, space, he was all about it.”
