Jet Flyby, 73 Seconds of Silence Mark Challenger Remembrance

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. —  At a mournful remembrance Sunday, the rumbling flyover of Air Force jets at the precise moment of the space shuttle Challenger’s last liftoff gave way to 73 seconds of pained silence.

The silence, marking the doomed flight’s duration, was punctuated only by traffic and the screams of sea gulls.

The Astronauts Memorial Foundation ceremony here drew about 400 people--ex-astronauts, shuttle managers, space center workers and tourists--all united by their memories of that day 10 years ago when Challenger shattered 8.9 miles above the Atlantic Ocean after liftoff, killing the seven crew members aboard.

Across the United States on Sunday, there were other remembrances.

At crew member Christa McAuliffe’s grave in her hometown of Concord, N.H., mourners left flowers, poems, drawings, an apple and a plastic teddy bear. McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space.

The mother of Challenger astronaut Judith Resnik, Sarah Belfer of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, planned to spend a quiet day at the symphony. A performance of “America the Beautiful” was being dedicated to her daughter.

And the family of Challenger commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee was in Tempe, Ariz., for the Super Bowl. Son Rich Scobee, an Air Force captain, led a formation of jet fighters over Sun Devil Stadium at the conclusion of the national anthem in tribute to his father and the rest of the crew. He flew the missing-man formation.