Reagan's 100th birthday: 10 defining moments

American's 40th president, Ronald Reagan, would have turned 100 on Sunday.

7. The Challenger disaster (Jan. 28, 1986)

Scott Stewart/AP/File
President Reagan works at his desk in the Oval Office on May 24, 1985, as he prepares a speech on tax revision.

The evening after the space shuttle Challenger disaster, which claimed the lives of its seven crew members, Reagan comforted the nation from the Oval Office, reminding viewers that a pioneering spirit was not without sacrifice.

“The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them,” said Reagan.

In the speech, he vowed that the tragedy would not deter space exploration, though the space shuttle program was suspended for several years.

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