The end of January and the beginning of February bring anniversaries of US space program catastrophes. Today marks 30 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that led to the deaths of Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

Yesterday, Jan. 27th, was the 49th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee.

And next Monday, Feb. 1st, will mark the 13th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in which Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon were killed.

History 

• Challenger – January 28, 1986
  • Space Shuttle Challenger disaster – Wikipedia
  • Reporters recall Challenger disaster 30 years later – CBS News
  • Reporters remember Challenger coverage – Spaceflight Now  
  • The Challenger seven remembered 30 years after STS-51L – NASASpaceFlight.com 
  • The Space Shuttle Challenger Exploded 30 Years Ago – TIME
• Columbia – February 1, 2003
  • Space Shuttle Columbia disaster – Wikipedia
  • Columbia Disaster: What Happened, What NASA Learned – space.com
  • The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia – Ars Technica
• Apollo 1  – January 27, 1967
  • Apollo 1 – Wikipedia
  • Remembering the Apollo 1 Crew – NASA
  • The Tragedy Of Apollo 1 And The Lessons That Brought Us To The Moon – Forbes
  • Apollo 1: The Fire That Shocked NASA – Scientific American

Policy 

• Challenger lessons still unlearned after 30 years – Rand Simberg/USA Today
• Remembrance is Not Enough – Wayne Hale’s Blog
• Was the Space Shuttle Really Worth It? Op/Ed by Popular Mechanics Editor-In-Chief Jim Meigs
• SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the Legacy of the Challenger Shuttle Disaster – The Atlantic

Videos:

https://youtu.be/nJUAGc9yH6A

https://youtu.be/lzAjAN7KWOg