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NYC Park Named for Challenger Astronaut

Two decades after the space shuttle Challenger exploded, city officials opened a playground dedicated to an astronaut killed in the accident.

The ribbon cutting took place Friday, on the eve of Ronald E. McNair's birthday. The $2 million playground in Harlem is near where McNair grew up. His father owned an auto body shop next door to the site.

The one-acre McNair Playground has a space theme. Jupiter is represented by a granite ring circling the park's green turf. A climbing set is based on the spaceship in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey." Craters decorate a spray shower, and the phases of the moon are reflected in two spinning machines.
Read entire article at AP