25 years ago this month, a nation watches in horror as disaster strikes the space shuttle program. what went wrong. and 50 years ago this month a new president takes office. hear the inaugural speech that calls america to action and stirs a new move. this coming move marks a grim anniversary in american history. it was 25 years ago on januy 28, 1986 that the space shuttle challenger began to break apart

less than 1.5 after launch leading to the deaths of all seven crew members. 17 years later, the nation suffered another shuttle catastrophe the desintigration of columbia on it's return to earth. >> we have main engine start, four, three, two, one and lift off. lift off of the 25th space shuttle mission and it has cleared the shuttle. >> reporter: it had all become so routine. the rocket rose, so routine that only cnn carried the launch live that day in 1986.

so routine that one was scarily aware of the oohs and aah east of the crowd. that is until the oohs and aahs turned into disbelief. and suddenly nothing seemed routine anymore. everyone the disembodied nasa voice, so calm, so anteseptic could not hide the fact that clearly something terrible had just happened. >> flight controller looking very carefully at the situation. obviously a major malfunction. >> reporter: one of the astronauts, the seven men and women strapped into the crew compartment, including the first teacher in space. >> we're checking to see what we can do at this point. >> reporter: the answer was nothing can be done to rescue the crew who almost certainly

were still alive. nasa officials said the crew know right away something was wrong. the last transmission from the crew, the simple phrase, oh-oh. >> at this point there was awareness of the pilot because that was the moment, that was the moment of the explosion. >> reporter: but how long would they have remained conscious. a report six months later from nasa's associate administrator richard trulley said it was unlikely the blast killed the crew. that they might have lost consciousness right away, but no one knows for sure. >> it could have been as low as 10 seconds or so. >> reporter: but at least some might have been conscious for the entire two minutes and 45 seconds between the time of the apparent explosion and the time the compartment hit the water

at 200-miles-an-hour with the force 200 times that of earth's gravity. the evidence, divers found four of the shuttles emergency air packs, three of them including that of the pilot had been turned on. something the astronauts would have had to do themselves after the blast. but what could have caused such a disaster? nasa officials knew they would have to reassemble challenger if they were to have any hope of finding the answer. that meant collecting the shuttle pieces, tens of thousands of them from the ocean where they had fallen. a monumental undertaking. and in fact, searchers recovered a remarkable amount of shuttle degree from the waters. >> the cabin in this immediate location so, under the theory that this stuff is coming up from the bottom. >> in the same area, several other items that looked to them could be parts of the cockpit. >> reporter: everyone before the investigation hit full stride, some experts offered a

theory. >> i think it was a small leak, probably near the connector between the external tank and the shuttle. >> increasingly government hearings would focus on something called an o ring. a rubber fitting on the sections of the solid rocket boosters designed to keep hot exhaust gases from escaping out the side. engineers at the company that built the solid rocket boosters martin fiyaco knew the o ring would become brittle at cold temperatures. it had been cold the night before the launch down to 28 degrees farenheit, 4 degrees below freezing. in the end, investigators concluded that it had been the o ring that pierced the tank

and ignited. nasa recommended the launch be delayed as it had been in times before. >> my recommendation was to wait a day. wait until the afternoon, depending on temperatures. >> there was no positive statement for a launch ever made in that room. everybody considered the opinion that if we developed a problem it would blow it up on the pad. >> reporter: but they said they got the distinct impression those responsible for the launch did not want to delay it. >> it was a feeling that we were in a position to having to prove it was unsafe instead of the other way around. >> you honestly believe that you had a duty to prove that it would not work. >> that's the mode we got ourselves into that evening. it seems like we've always been in the opposite mode. i should have detected that. but i did not. the roles kind of switched. >> i left the room feeling badly defeated but i felt i did all i could to stop the launch. >> reporter: nasa officials defended their decision to go

ahead. >> didn't you have in your own minds some question about the wisdom of going ahead with the launch? >> i came to a conclusion in my mind that temperatures at the levels we were talking about was not dominant. >> i the did not know of any memos that have now said that circulated to some levels. i had none of that knowledge. i had none of the knowledge of any dissension that was going on within the internal discussion. >> reporter: six weeks after the accident, nasa released a report of nasa officials sometimes dismissing safety concerns. there was only one driving reason that such a potential dangerous system would ever be allowed to fly. launch schedule pressure. and young listed several launches he said went ahead

even though nasa could not assure all the systems were reliable. and he added, i think that proves to me there's a lot of lucky people that work here. >> that can do attitude was replaced by a can't fail attitude. >> reporter: nasa promised to clean up it's act and it was two years before the next shuttle would take off. there was no doubt america could continue its commitment to explore the heavens, it was a commitment seemingly imposed

by the teacher that climbed on the challenger. >> lift off of space shuttle endeavor expanding the international space station while creating a classroom in space. >> christa's legacy is open ended with the challenger crew was doing. still to come, as the nation mourns the crew of the challenger. president reagan consoles the nation with one of his most powerful speeches. and later, another powerful speech, we look back at the inauguration speech of john f. kennedy.

this week marks 28 years since the shuttle challenger broke apart on launch killing the seven astronauts on board. the disaster left a nation stunned. president reagan was actually scheduled to deliver his state

of the union address that night. instead he went on television to comfort the nation. >> today is a day for mourning and remembering. nancy and i are daneed to the core over the tragedy of the challenger. we know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. this is truly a national loss. 19 years ago almost to the day we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. but we've never lost an astronaut in flight. we've never had a tragedy like this. and perhaps we forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. but they the challenger seven were aware of the dangerous but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. we mourn seven heros.

smith, cobey, resmick, mcnair. amisuca, hervis and aminuca. the families of the seven, we cannot bare like you do this tragedy. but we feel the loss and we're thinking about you very much. your loved ones were daring and brave and they had that special spirit that says give me a challenge and i will meet it with joy. they had a hunger to explore the universe and discover it's truths. they wished to serve and they did. they served all of us. we've grown used to wonders in this century, it's hard to dazzle us. but for years the nasa system has done just that. we are still pioneers, they the members of the challenger crew were pioneers. and i want to say something to the school children of america who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take off. i know it's hard to understand

but sometimes painful things like this happen. it's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. it's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. the future doesn't belong to the faint hearted. it belongs to the brave. the challenger crew was pulling us into the future and we'll continue to follow them. i've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. we don't hide our space program, we don't keep secrets and cover things up, we do it all up front and in public. that's the way freedom is and we wouldn't change it for a minute. we'll continue our quest in space, there will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. nothing ends here, our hopes and our journeys continue. i want to add that i wish i could talk to every man and

woman who works for nasa or who worked on this mission and tell them, your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades and we know of your anguish. we share it. there's a coincidence today on this day 390 years ago the great explorer sir francis drake died aboardship off the coast of panama, in his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans and a historian later said he lived by the sea, died on it and was buried in it. well today, we can say of the challenger crew, their dedication was like drake's, complete. the crew of the challenger honored us with the manner they lived their lives. we will never forget them nor the last time we saw them, this morning. as they prepared for their

journey and waved goodbye and slipped the bonds of earth to touch the face of god. thank you. >> when we come back on a second look. >> ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. you probably heard that line before, we'll take you to the inauguration 50 years ago where those words were spoken. and a bit later. >> we're at the democratic convention and it's about a half an hour before the convention. and later, mike wallace with his coverage of the convention.

last friday marks 50 years since the inauguration of john f. kennedy. over the years most inauguration speeches have come and gone with few remembers for very long what was said. but few speech, very few have

gain add special place in history. and craig first brought us this report in 2005. >> and so fellow americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. >> reporter: perhaps the most memorable words to come from an inauguration speech. certainly in the year that kennedy laid down that challenge in 1961 no president has delivered a more lasting inaugural phrase. >> the emergency, the emotion that we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike. that the torch has been passed to a new generation of

americans born in this century, tempered by war. disciplined by a hard and bitter piece. proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. let every nation know whether it wishes us well or will that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,

support any friend, oppose any foe to assure that the vital and the success of limiting. >> reporter: since george washington made the firsthand written inaugural address, it has been what newly elected or reelected presidents aspire to but few achieve. a spark that lights a fire in the mind and the imaginations of americans. those that stand the test of time have often come in times of great national crisis. when franklin roosevelt first took office in 1942, the nation had just begun the great depression. and

>> fear is the only thing we should fear itself. to convert to a trait and to advance. this nation is asking for our actions and action now. >> reporter: for abraham lincoln the moment came at the end of his second inaugural address, an appeal to heal the nation split by four years of civil war. >> with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness and the right as god gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we're in. to bind up the nation's wound. to care for him who shall born the battle and for his widow and his orphan. to do all that shall achieve, among ourselves and with all nations. when we come back on a second look. we'll go back 50 years for another memorable speech by john kennedy. and tell you about a treasure-

trove of kennedy videos and tapes now available online. mike wallace covers the 1950 democratic convention in los angeles.

as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of john f. kennedy's inauguration speech. kennedy's acceptance speech at the 1960 democratic convention held at the los angeles coliseum has been released. here's a portion of that speech that you will find online. >> we stand today on the edge of a new frontier. the ontier of the 1960. the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils. the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled threats. with our new freedom, promised our nation a new political and economic frame osevelt's new de

promised security to those in need, but the new frontier of which i speak is not a set of promises, it is a set of challenges. it's not what i intend to offer to the american people but what i intend to ask of them. it appeals to their pride. >> [ applause ] >> it appeals to our pride, not our security. it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security. the new frontier is here whether we seek it or not. beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered

problems or ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus. >> one of the reporters covering that event was mike wallis. he brought viewers a behind the scenes look at how a candidate can create a spontaneous demonstration on the convention floor. >> it's about a half an hour before the jack kennedy demonstration. spontaneous demonstration. it's all set to begin. we're on the south side of the sports arena and the girls for kennedy, the boys for kennedy, balloons and signs for kennedy are all in place. lindon johnson's demonstration is going on. and we thought we could show you a little bit of the anatomy of the demonstration. there's a pretty girl who's name is sue warshaw. i notice you were holding a new mexico sign but you're not from new mexico. >> no i'm not. >> how about the other girls that are holding the maryland

and the texas and alabama signs are they from that state? >> no we're all kennedy girls from california. we thought each state deserved a pretty kennedy girl. >> how many girls and boys and men and women are involved? >> 150 people are allowed in the arena for the demonstrations. but we have also distributed signs and little packets with confetti in it and horns to all the delegates and all of the gallery people who are interested for the demonstration. >> now you've been in charge of getting the signs ready i'm told. >> that's right. >> do you have any idea how much money you've spent just on these cardboard signs. >> about a thousand dollars. >> you signed the checks yourself. >> no, sir i didn't sign them. >> that's it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week.