73 Seconds of Silence Honor Challenger’s Lost Crew

In emotional ceremonies, space workers here and around the nation observed 73 seconds of silence, the length of the space shuttle Challenger’s final flight, as America honored seven astronauts who died a year ago today.

Schoolchildren around the country held memorial observances, a statue made of 1 million pennies donated by youngsters was dedicated and the families of the crew either joined public memorials or grieved privately.

President Reagan, addressing NASA workers via satellite, said Americans should learn the “lesson of courage, spirit and love” taught by the crew of the doomed spaceship.

‘A Special Commitment’

“In the next decade, we will build and fly a new space shuttle,” he said. “For me, this is a special commitment.”

Reagan and his advisers wrestled for months before approving NASA’s request for another shuttle to replace Challenger. The new ship is being built at a cost of more than $2 billion, for probable flight in 1991.

All activity ceased at Cape Canaveral and at nine other NASA centers at 11:38 a.m. EST, the moment on Jan. 28, 1986, when the shuttle roared away from icicle-laden Launch Pad 39B. Today was cold, with temperatures falling to 33 degrees overnight, a grim reminder of the conditions that contributed to the shuttle explosion.

Many of the nearly 14,000 workers at the Kennedy Space Center walked out of their buildings and gazed up at the spot 8.9 miles above the Atlantic Ocean where Challenger erupted into a fireball.

Tear-Filled Eyes

Tears welled in the eyes of several.

Killed in the accident were Cmdr. Dick Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe and crew members Judy Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka and Greg Jarvis.

Jarvis’ widow, Marcia, said she would be alone today. “I’m going to spend that day quietly on a trail somewhere . . . because we always did things outside,” she said.

Onizuka’s family planned a happier observance Saturday, gathering in Houston for a Hawaiian-style luau.