CU Boulder Honors Alumni Killed in Challenger, Columbia Disasters

University holds memorial march to mark 40th and 23rd anniversaries of tragic space shuttle accidents.

Feb. 1, 2026 at 1:55pm

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The University of Colorado Boulder held a memorial march on Saturday to honor the two alumni astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986 and the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegration in 2003. Ellison Onizuka and Kalpana Chawla were CU Boulder graduates who perished in the disasters, and the university has taken steps to memorialize their legacies.

Why it matters

The Challenger and Columbia tragedies were pivotal moments in the history of the U.S. space program, leading to major safety reforms and a renewed focus on risk mitigation. CU Boulder's connection to the astronauts lost in these accidents makes the events deeply personal for the university community, underscoring the human cost of space exploration.

The details

CU Boulder professor David Klaus, who was a launch control engineer at NASA during the Challenger disaster, says the accidents made him "much more aware and in tune with risk analysis." The university's Air Force ROTC Detachment 105 placed roses on plaques honoring Onizuka and Chawla during the memorial march. Onizuka, the first Asian American astronaut, carried a CU flag and football with him on his first mission, which are now displayed at the CU Heritage Center. Chawla, the first South Asian American woman in space, received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Congressional Space Medal of Honor posthumously.

  • The memorial march was held on February 1, 2026.
  • The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, 40 years ago.
  • The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on February 1, 2003, 23 years ago.

The players

David Klaus

A retired University of Colorado Boulder professor who was a 23-year-old launch control engineer at NASA during the Challenger disaster.

Ellison Onizuka

A CU Boulder alumnus who was the first Asian American, first Hawaiian, and first person of Japanese ancestry to explore space. He died aboard the Challenger mission in 1986.

Kalpana Chawla

A CU Boulder alumna who was the first South Asian American woman to go to space. She died aboard the Columbia mission in 2003.

Air Force ROTC Detachment 105

The University of Colorado Boulder's Air Force ROTC unit that held the memorial march.

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What they’re saying

“It made me much more aware and in tune with risk analysis. You realize there are risks in everything you do, and with Challenger (and Columbia), of course, that was the ultimate outcome, the loss of life. There's always a risk, but quantifying it and trying to mitigate the risk, identifying it, all those areas led to what I did ultimately professionally in my professor career.”

— David Klaus, Retired University of Colorado Boulder professor (broomfieldenterprise.com)

The takeaway

The Challenger and Columbia disasters were tragic losses that deeply impacted the CU Boulder community, but the university has honored the legacies of Ellison Onizuka and Kalpana Chawla by preserving their accomplishments and continuing to advance space exploration with a focus on safety and risk mitigation.