Christa McAuliffe is still a pioneer, decades after she was picked to become America’s first teacher in space.

A large section of the destroyed space shuttle Challenger has been found buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Barely 100 people — all masked and seated or standing far apart — gathered in front of Kennedy Space Center’s Space Mirror Memorial. The widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee quietly observed the anniversary from her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In a recent interview, June Scobee Rodgers said the presence of teacher Christa McAuliffe on the flight added to the crew’s lasting legacy. Scobee Rodgers helped establish the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in the wake of the accident, along with the other Challenger families. This year's observance focused on the Challenger crew — McAuliffe, Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.

In moments of crisis, American presidents have sought to summon words to match the moment in the hope that the power of oratory can bring order to chaos and despair. The oratory of crisis typically consists of either a formal statement or an extemporaneous speech. And it is in our power to do something about it.”Unlike Trump, Biden was unsparing in his remarks after the insurrection at the Capitol about where blame lay. But Biden even then, in 1987, was also known for his ability to use words, albeit sometimes too many of them. The challenge for crisis oratory is to not underplay the severity of the problem or foster a new sense of panic.