challenger anniversary of the Challenger disaster photos

Friday is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster that took the lives of 7 astronauts, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Last week, we asked Yahoo! readers and Facebook fans to share their memories from that day.

[Share your Challenger memories on Yahoo! News' Facebook page]

It's a moment that's burned into a generation's mind: The white exhaust plume trailing behind the rapidly ascending Challenger; a fireball, then a huge cloud splitting into a "Y" formation as the shuttle broke apart and fell back to earth.

Many of those who watched the tragedy unfold live on TV were children; NASA had arranged a live satellite broadcast for many schools across the nation. Yahoo! user Lisa recalled watching the Challenger launch during class:

'I was in 6th grade. It was a special event for our small school, since we rarely got to watch TV in class, made even more so with the fact that there was a teacher going up into space for the first time. All 40 little faces were glued to the screen in excited anticipation. And then we all watched as the explosion ripped through the shuttle...'