aboratory in Pasadena, Calif.; Langley
             Research Center in Hampton, Va.; Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio; George C.
             Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; and the National Space Technology
             Laboratories in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
             Since it was founded, NASA has had many striking successes and at least two unfortunate
             tragedies. In 1961 Alan Shepard was the first American sent into space. The following year John
             Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. The most stunning achievement was putting
             two men on the moon in July 1969. The agency's first major accident was the death by fire in
             1967 of astronauts Virgil Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. The second disaster was the
             explosion of the Challenger space shuttle on Jan. 28, 1986. Less than two minutes after lift-off
             all seven astronauts aboard were killed, including Christa McA
             ...