Space Center’s Silence Marks Challenger Loss
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Space workers and tourists stood silently Saturday for 73 seconds, the length of the fatal Challenger flight, to remember the crew members who died in the shuttle explosion three years ago.
About 350 peace activists marked the anniversary with a rally outside a center gate to protest the launch of Defense Department payloads on space shuttles. Four women were arrested.
Tour buses stopped, and engineers, technicians and support crews halted activity as flags at the center were lowered to half-staff at 11:38 a.m., the moment when Challenger lifted off on Jan. 28, 1986.
Killed in the Challenger tragedy were Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald E. McNair, Gregory B. Jarvis and schoolteacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe.
Meanwhile, a Challenger memorial was dedicated Saturday at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, with the father and stepmother of Jarvis among those in attendance. The 105-foot white sculpture is shaped like a twisting girder.
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