Saturday marks the 31st anniversary of the loss of the Challenger, which broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean 73 seconds into flight on January 28, 1986.
Former astronaut and Florida Senator Bill Nelson, remembers what it was like for the millions who watched it happen.
"Ordinary Americans looked on their TV screens and they saw the symbol of American's technological prowess, explode before their very eyes on TV. That was another shocker to America, that something that looks so safe...it was almost like getting into your car and taking a Sunday afternoon drive...in fact was risky business. Every one of these human launches into space is risky business," said Sen. Nelson.
The Challenger accident killed all seven people on board.