The 1986 explosion of the Challenger marked  a tragic moment for not only the friends and   loved ones of the seven astronauts aboard  the doomed shuttle, but for the nation as   a whole. Let’s explore how — and where — the  Challenger’s crew members were put to rest. The 1980s was something of a wide-eyed,  optimistic period for NASA and space   flight.
Humans had landed on the moon  in 1969 — only 11 years prior at that   point — and visions of the future were  bold and bright. 1973 saw the European   Space Research Organization and NASA agree  to develop an orbital space laboratory,   1981 saw the first orbital spaceflight of  a reusable space shuttle, and the public   fully expected to go to Mars and beyond. Then the  Challenger disaster happened on January 28, 1986.
“Today is a day for mourning  and remembering. Nancy and   I are pained to the core about the  tragedy of the shuttle Challenger.” While some children tuned in  live from school to watch in   terror as the Challenger shuttle  exploded 73 seconds after launch,   most people watched the taped recording after  the fact.
The shuttle had set out on a somewhat   unglamorous but important mission to set up a  Tracking and Data Relay Satellite in orbit and   launch a separate satellite to observe Haley’s  Comet as it swept through our system. Instead,   all seven crew members onboard died after their  shuttle ignited during launch due to faulty rocket   design. Never again would NASA hurry a launch,  and never again would excitement trump caution.
Crew members Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Michael  J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair,   Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and  Christa McAuliffe all lost their lives on that   day. On March 9, NASA announced that divers  had found their cabin in the Atlantic Ocean,   and it took until April 20 to recover it.
Those remains were eventually cremated   and “commingled” at Arlington National  Cemetery, where they rest to this day. The Challenger crew were all smiles before  their mission, and happy to the point of   jovial as each member spoke a couple words of  thanks to everyone present at the launch. In   addition to mission specialists, of  special note was Christa McAuliffe,   the first teacher in space chosen  from out of 11,000 applicants.
“Has it all hit you yet?” “No, no, I don’t think so.  I still can’t believe that   I’m gonna actually be going into that shuttle.” She and the rest of the crew probably lost  consciousness due to a change in cabin   pressure and died from lack of oxygen before  their shuttle hit the water.
That being said,   it’s possible that someone  could have woken up during   the 2 minutes and 45 seconds that  it took to descend to the ocean. Out of respect, officials didn’t  elaborate on the state of the crew   members’ bodies when they were recovered.  Their cabin was reportedly largely intact,   some personal effects floated  to the surface of the water,   and other research materials were present inside  the cabin.
Beyond that, a report from NASA states: “Local security measures are being taken to assure  that the recovery operations can take place in a   safe and orderly manner. We really don’t want to  say anything else in deference to the families.” However, it is known that the crew’s  remains were crushed and, quote,   “could not be recognized as human,” as  The New York Times wrote at the time.
Body identification was conducted  at Patrick Air Force Base Hospital   25 miles from Cape Canaveral by the  Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. As mentioned, the cremated remains of the  Challenger crew are interred at Arlington   National Cemetery in Virginia.
All seven of  their remains were mixed and placed together   at a memorial in Section 46, Grave 1129,  while two of the crew members — Francis   R. “Dick” Scobee and Michael J. Smith — also  have graves of their own in the cemetery. The   memorial features a fitting poem called  “High Flight” written by Royal Canadian   Air Force pilot John Gillespie Magee  Jr. in 1941.
In part the poem reads: “Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling   mirth / of sun split clouds — and done a  hundred things / You have not dreamed of.” Numerous tributes have been written to the  Challenger crew over the decades since their   death, and there are additional monuments besides  the memorial in Arlington National Cemetery that   holds the crew’s remains — along with a small  monument in Montpelier, Vermont.
Meanwhile,   the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space  Center in Florida is a grand, but simply designed   mirrored surface of polished black granite that  reflects the sky. It’s currently inscribed with   the names of 24 deceased astronauts,  including those of the Challenger crew.