The District Court initially held the tapes should be turned over. With both sides appealing different rulings, the case ultimately ended up with the United States Supreme Court. The justices directed the District Court Judge to rule whether the privacy of the crew families would be invaded were the tapes to be released. Weighing the right of the pubic to know, and the right of privacy possessed by the families, the Court ruled against The New York Times. The audio tapes have never been released.

When the crew families learned what their loved ones had never learned - that Morton Thiokol and NASA both knew about the O-ring design defect - lawsuits were filed. All the cases were settled before the shuttle flew again, with redesigned solid rocket booster joints, in 1988. Roger Boisjoly says the redesigned joints are still faulty.

The crew's families have moved on, doing the best they can to privately cope with a public disaster that shook the heart of their country. People alive at the time of the explosion remember what they were doing at the precise moment they learned of it - just like they recall the assassination of President Kennedy.

In the years since America's Supersonic Transport Shuttles have resumed flights, there have been no further disasters until February 1, 2003. Sixteen minutes before it was due to land at the Kennedy Space Station, Columbia had a catastrophic failure. All seven members of the crew and the ship were lost.

Despite setbacks, the space program is flourishing. Stunning pictures from Jupiter and other planets continue to amaze scientists and the public alike. The Hubble space telescope, initially suffering from a design flaw, has now been repaired and regularly transmits incredible data. Magnificent pictures of vast assemblies of stars are only one small example.

Nearly a century has passed since the genius of the Wright brothers changed the world forever. Were they to come back for a look at what their inventions launched, they would recognize all of the fundamentals. But would they believe how much progress has been made with the enhancements?