it is with deep, heartfelt sorrow. I address you here this afternoon at 11:40 a.m. This morning Space program experienced a national tragedy with the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. It occurred Feb. 1, 2003. For millions of Americans, it was an event that ...

Solid Rocket Booster diagram side view ... States would return to space flight with five crew members aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Emmy Award Winning Meteorologist Samara Cokinos joined ...

After working to improve the booster design and creating new management practices to improve safety, NASA relaunched shuttle flights on Sept. 29, 1988, when Discovery lifted off from the space center.