Former Kennedy Space Center director, Bob Cabana (left), speaks to Jane Smith-Wolcott, widow of Challenger pilot Michael Smith, during NASA’s Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. The annual event commemorates the crews of Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. Marking the 40th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy, NASA Kennedy and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts, hosted this year’s ceremony.