30 Years Ago Today The Challenger Explodes After Liftoff [VIDEOS]

Can you believe its been 30 years since the space shuttle Challenger tragedy rocked the world? I remember sitting in my 5th grade classroom at Holy Name Catholic School in Racine watching the live TV feed. The interest surrounding this mission into space was so exciting because 37-year-old high school teacher Christa McAuliffe was on her way to becoming the fist ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space.

At 11:38 a.m. eastern standard time on January 28th 1986, the space shuttle lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and  seventy-three  seconds later the rest is history. The image of Christa's family staring in disbelief is an image I'll never forget. God bless all the souls we lost on that fateful morning.