Looking back at the Challenger disaster 35 years later

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – It was one of those traumas, where everyone can remember where they were when they learned the space shuttle Challenger had exploded.

Some even watched it happen, live.

By 1986, shuttle flights had become routine.

But this flight of the Challenger was a bit different.

For the first time, NASA’s Teacher in Space program allowed a private citizen to fly along.

She was 36 year old Christa McAuliffe from New Hampshire.

So while most adults went about their business on January 28th, students all over the country watched the Challenger launch on tv sets in the classrooms.

Including one particular classroom in Red Bank. Vivian Woods was a Tennessee finalist for the Teacher in Space program, so her class was watching.

The learning experience quickly became a lesson in trauma.

The shuttle exploded 73 seconds into flight, killing all seven on board.

Chattanooga would later have an even closer connection to the tragedy.

Dick Scobee was the commander on the flight.

His widow, June Scobee Rodgers, would eventually remarry and move her family here.

She is a driving force behind the Challenger Learning Centers across the country and world.

In 1994, UTC opened the first Learning Center tied to a University.

Rodgers is an educator who continues to push the message of Challenger 7 by stressing math and science in the centers.

She also wrote the book Silver Linings about the Challenger and her life.

Dick Scobee is in the center of the front row