When the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 28, 1986 and then exploded shortly afterward, seven astronauts died: Commander Francis R. Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka and Judith Resnik, and Payload Specialists Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.
Coloradan David Klaus was a launch commander for NASA that day. Now a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, he shares his memories of those moments with Colorado Matters host Nathan Heffel.
