Dave Reynolds was in second grade at Lakeview Elementary in Roy, Utah, on January 28, 1986, when his teacher wheeled in a TV to watch what was supposed to be a historic moment in space exploration.

Lost that fateful day were Commander Francis Richard Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, mission specialists Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair and Ellison Onizuka, payload specialist Gregory Bruce Jarvis, and teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe, who was flying as part of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics outreach program.

NASA's Space Shuttle Program, which ran from 1981 to 2011, was a complex and ambitious project that pushed the boundaries of space exploration, but was marred by two tragic accidents during the shuttle era.

It's been 40 years since the Challenger space shuttle, carrying seven people, took off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, exploding in mere minutes.

No one can tell the story better than someone who's lived it and when it comes to breaking barriers and overcoming obstacles during NASA's space shuttle days, that would be Col. Eileen Collins. Collins holds the honor of being both the first woman to pilot ...