Twenty-nine years ago Wednesday, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff.
Physicist Ronald E. McNair, only the second African American to enter space, was one of those aboard. His brother Carl told StoryCorps what it was like growing up with the groundbreaking astronaut and they, in turn, animated his story.
Also 29 years ago, President Ronald Reagan honored the Challenger astronauts in one of his most remembered speeches.