1 February 2003 9:00 AM: STS-107 disintegrated over eastern Texas during reentry. A briefcase sized piece of insulating foam broke off the external fuel tank during launch and struck the leading edge of the left wing at 3000 km/h. Impact damage to the thermal protection system allowed hot gases to penetrate and destroy the internal wing structure 17 days later during reentry.

31 January 1958: Explorer 1 became the first artificial satellite launched into space by the United States. Onboard was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Explorer I subsequently discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belts.

28 January 1986 11:39 AM: The Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L broke up over the Atlantic Ocean 73 seconds after liftoff. An O-ring in the right solid rocket booster failed. A jet of burning solid rocket fuel began escaping from the leak which cut a hole in the large, orange external fuel tank. The tank ruptured, the liquid hydrogen and oxygen mixed, a massive fireball erupted, and the orbiter was torn to pieces. Debris rained for several minutes afterward. The crew compartment remained intact. Any astronauts who remained alive after the disintegration of the orbiter died when the crew compartment impacted the ocean.

27 January 1967: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee died in the Apollo 1 command module during testing after a fire started. The command module was pressured with pure oxygen to 2 atmospheres making it an obvious fire hazard. Since the door was designed to open inward and the interior pressure was 1 atmosphere greater than the exterior, the door was held firmly shut. Toxic smoke asphyxiated the astronauts and the intense oxygen-fueled flames roasted them.

In memory
of
those who made the ultimate sacrifice
so others could reach for the stars

Ad astra per aspera
(A rough road leads to the stars)

God speed to the crew
of
Apollo 1

25 January 2004: Opportunity (a.k.a. Mars Exploration Rover B) landed in Meridiani Planum.