The annual public Astronaut Memorial Ceremony for the 17 crew members of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia who perished in America’s space program will be on Sunday Jan. 25, 2026 at 1 pm EST, at Sand Point Park in Titusville, FL.

Shuttle astronaut Jan Davis will be the keynote speaker.* The public is invited to attend this reverent and patriotic ceremony that honors the lives and sacrifice made by these pioneers of NASA’s manned space program. (Map & contacts are below.)

American Space Museum’s YouTube channel will carry this ceremony live and for later playback.

The event includes a keynote address, patriotic songs, a host of city and county dignitaries, participation from the Knights of Columbus, the Civil Air Patrol, a rifle salute and placement of flowers on the 17 plaques at the park honoring the fallen space travelers.

The annual remembrance is hosted by the City of Titusville Flag & Memorial Committee and the American Space Museum. The Titusville Garden Club provides the flowers for this honorable ceremony. The event is free and open to the public.

3-4 pm: Informal Reception at Museum after ceremony

Afterwards, those attending the ceremony are invited to an informal reception from 3-4 pm at the American Space Museum, 308 Pine Street on southbound US 1, in downtown Titusville. For more information, contact Mark Marquette marq@americanspacemuseum.org or 321-264-0434.

Those being remembered and the day they gave their ultimate sacrifice for America are…

• Apollo 1, Jan. 27, 1967: Commander Virgil “Gus” Grissom a Mercury and Gemini veteran, Ed White, the first American to walk in space, and Roger Chaffee;
• Challenger STS-51L, Jan. 28, 1986: Commander Dick Scobee, Pilot Mike Smith, Mission specialists Judy Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and first true civilian and teacher in space Christa McAuliffe;
• Columbia STS-107, Feb. 1, 2003: Rick D. Husband, William C. “Willie” McCool, David M. Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson and Ilan Ramon.

* Keynote speaker Jan Davis is a three-time Space Shuttle Mission Specialist. She is also an accomplished engineer, industry executive, and author of her two memoirs tied to her aviator father: “Air Born: Two Generations in Flight” and “Air Born: Artistic Musings of a WWII Pilot and POW.”

(Note: NASA’s Day of Remembrance was Jan 22nd, 2026.)