English: Looking north at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial in Section 46 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The Canadian Cross of Sacrifice is in the background. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986. The remains of Captain Michael Smith and Commander Francis "Dick" Scobee were identified and interred at Arlington. The remains of the five other individuals aboard the shuttle could not (at that time) be identified, and were cremated. A group burial occurred near Scobee's grave in Section 46. On June 12, 1986, Congress passed legislation establishing a Space Shuttle Challenger memorial. The families agreed to erect the memorial on top of the grave holding the cremated remains. Artist Robert Harding designed the bronze plaque which is affixed to the front of the monument. The poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., is inscribed on the memorial's rear. The memorial was dedicated on March 21, 1987, by Vice President George H.W. Bush.