Irvine : Street to Be Named in Memory of Challenger

Three years after the space shuttle Challenger blew up, a small group of Irvine residents will commemorate it and the seven crew members who died by changing the name of their street to Challenger.

In a short ceremony at 2 p.m. today, Dr. Marvin Resnik, father of astronaut Judith Resnik, will remove the covers on two new signs and officially change the block-long street’s name from Norfolk to Challenger.

Actually, Irvine resident Les Kaufman explained, his community of Northwood Glen had received permission from the city to change the street name from one that recalled blue-green pines to Challenger as long ago as April 22, 1986, not quite 3 months after the Jan. 28, 1986, disaster.

But it took until this winter for the city to accept the development, Kaufman said, and then it wasn’t until today that astronaut Judith Resnik’s father could arrange to be on hand for a brief ceremony.

Kaufman said he believes the new signs will be typical Irvine street signs--blue with white letters. One new Challenger sign will be placed at both ends of the street, he said, and the small ceremony will take place at the north end of Norfolk, at the corner of Southwood.