After the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986, the bodies of the crew members were recovered from the wreckage of the spacecraft. The remains of the seven astronauts—Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe—were found among the debris recovered from the ocean floor.

Following the recovery efforts, the remains were transported to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where they underwent examination and identification. Once the identification process was completed, the remains were returned to their families for private burial or cremation.