May 6, 1985 Shuttle Challenger lands at Edwards Air Force Base. It was the seventeenth space shuttle mission but that didn’t diminish the excitement of the crowd gathered there. La Jolla High School teacher Gloria McMillan and her students were there. She was a finalist for the teacher in space program. Christa McAuliffe was chosen for the ill-fated flight. Reporter Lorraine Kimel: When I worked at CBS News 8 , I probably reported on more than three thousand stories. For sure, one of the most thrilling, was the assignment to go up to Edward’s Air Force base in the Mojave Desert to cover the Space Shuttle Challenger returning from outer space. It was probably the most astounding sight I have seen! Photographer Steve Renne was behind the camera capturing the action. Sadly, within - months, on January 28, 1986, Challenger exploded, shocking and saddening people here in the USA and around the world.