Challenger flag

The flag was sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado, whose Scoutmaster was William "Bill" Tolbert, a major in the United States Air Force assigned to the Space Command.

Tolbert intended that this Capitol flag eventually be flown aboard a space shuttle and returned to the scout troop, to serve as a source of inspiration.

After the destruction of Challenger, when the wreckage was brought up from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, rescuers found the flag, still in its sealed plastic bag, intact and completely unscathed.

[2][3] On December 18, 1986, the Challenger flag was returned to Boy Scout Troop 514 in a special ceremony attended by 100 dignitaries, guests, and members of the media, at the Consolidated Space Operations Center, Falcon Air Force Station, Colorado.

Astronaut Guion Bluford, who had flown on board the Challenger on two previous missions, and who is also an Eagle Scout, returned the flag to the troop.

[1] In 2002, the Challenger flag was loaned to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be displayed in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympic games.