Barely 100 people — all masked and seated or standing far apart — gathered in front of Kennedy Space Center’s Space Mirror Memorial. The widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee quietly observed the anniversary from her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In a recent interview, June Scobee Rodgers said the presence of teacher Christa McAuliffe on the flight added to the crew’s lasting legacy. Scobee Rodgers helped establish the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in the wake of the accident, along with the other Challenger families. This year's observance focused on the Challenger crew — McAuliffe, Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.

January 28th is a Day of Remembrance honoring the lives of the crew and teacher aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. This marks 35 years since the Challenger disaster. NASA will honor the lives of the astronauts who died in the Challenger explosion 35 years ago with a Day of Remembrance ceremony on Thursday. NASA, in partnership with The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, will host the ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Space Mirror Memorial. Robert Cabana, the director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center, and Mike Leinbach, a retired space shuttle launch director, are expected to speak at the ceremony.