If, like me, you grew up in the 1980s, the Space Shuttle Challenger (video) disaster is probably permanently etched in your memory.

I was only 13 on January 28th, 1986 (25 years ago Friday), but I recall that day vividly - where I was when I heard about the explosion (the Ladue Junior High school cafeteria), who I was sitting with (Elliot Poger) where we went to confirm what happened (Mrs. Dumont's classroom) and how personally it impacted one teacher (Mr. Galloway, who had been one of the teachers invited to "audition" for what became Christa McAuliffe's seat).

Of all the shuttle missions, we all lamented, why did this have to happen with the first teacher on board?

If there was an overarching lesson to take away from Challenger, like the Apollo One fire and the Apollo 13 "successful failure" before it, and the Columbia explosion after it, perhaps it's that Challenger reminded us both how far we'd come, and how far we still have to go, in our exploration of the cosmos.

Space exploration is one of the topics we regularly return to on Radio Smart Talk. If you missed any of our previous discussions, here are a few that may be worth your while:

We explored the commercialization of space.

We discussed the future of exploration.

I had an intriguing conversation with retired NASA mission control flight director Gene Kranz.

Gene Kranz, by the way, was the man who famously said "failure is not an option" - a concept and slogan NASA's mission control held to for years. In recent days, though, as I recall the Challenger explosion, another very different quote about failure has been knocking around in my head, from the comedian Craig Ferguson, who once said "we prepare for glory by failing until we don't." I can't help but wonder if that observation is more apt when we think back on Challenger and the seven astronauts we lost that day: that sometimes, in life, we are going to fail, and that on rare occasions, we'll do so with disastrous consequences. But just as the 73 seconds the Challenger crew experienced from liftoff to their untimely end was not the last 73 seconds of the space program, when any of us fail at something, it's not the end of the journey - it's just the beginning. We just need to learn from it, and try to keep it from happening again. 

Do you remember where you were, the day of the Challenger disaster, 25 years ago? Share your memories below...

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                                                                    January 27, 2011

Statement by the President on NASA Day of Remembrance

Fifty years ago, a young President facing mounting pressure at home propelled a fledgling space agency on a bold, new course that would push the frontiers of exploration to new heights.  Today, on this Day of Remembrance when NASA reflects on the mighty sacrifices made to push those frontiers, America’s space agency is working to achieve even greater goals.  NASA’s new 21st Century course will foster new industries that create jobs, pioneer technology innovation, and inspire a new generation of explorers through education – all while continuing its fundamental missions of exploring  our home planet and the cosmos.

Throughout history, however, we have seen that achieving great things sometimes comes at great cost and we mourn the brave astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice in support of NASA missions throughout the agency’s storied history.  We pause to reflect on the tragic loss of the Apollo 1 crew, those who boarded the space shuttle Challenger in search of a brighter future, and the brave souls who perished on the space shuttle Columbia.  

Through triumph and tragedy, each of us has benefited from their courage and devotion, and we honor their memory by dedicating ourselves to a better tomorrow. Despite the challenges before us today, let us commit ourselves and continue their valiant journey toward a more vibrant and secure future.