she lost her husband ronald mcnair. he was a nasa mission specialist killed during the 1986 challenger shuttle explosion. cheryl, thanks for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> i think one of the big water shed moment that's we all think about when we think of the space shuttle program is the challenger disaster engrained in all of our memories. given the sacrifice that you have made, that your husband made for the space program, what are your thoughts about the end to this, to this program? >> i will, of course, miss the program. it was a program that was -- that progressed with our innovations and with developments. and, yes, my husband was a physicist. my late husband was a laser physicist. however, he believed a great deal in the furthering of education. he was a motivating inspiration to children, to move them towards excellence, towards creating, towards innovation, towards life and the things they can do with their life. and to make things better, to improve. and, yes, he would believe in the future. he woul

. >> we remember ronald mcnair.phone in the weightlessness of space. well, ron, we will miss your saxophone and we will build your space station. >> reporter: but ron mcnair's story which began here in lake city south carolina, isn't just one of tragedy but triumph. the tale of a precocious kid who grew up poor during segregation and overcame hurdle after hurdle to realize his dream. >> it's a story of if you will a real role model and i think when you learn about all the aspects of his life you find that same kind of thing exists you know from the dedication that he had, the commitment that he had to his craft. >> reporter: gifted in both sighness and math mcnair graduated at the top of his high school class went on to earn a bachelor's degree in physics and his ph.d. from m.i.t. but that success almost didn't happen after he changed his major from physics to music his freshman year. >> ron had his first serious bout with self-doubt. >> reporter: thankfully his adviser stepped in. >> she found him out, tracked him