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NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with ceremonies and memorial services at U.S. space centers during the traditional annual tribute to fallen astronauts on Thursday.

More than 100 people gathered under gray skies at the Kennedy Space Center to honor not only the seven-member Columbia crew, but also the other 18 astronauts who died in the line of duty.

The two NASA shuttle crashes account for more than half the names carved into the black granite of the Cosmic Mirror Memorial, with plane crashes responsible for the rest.

No family members of the Columbia astronauts attended the morning ceremony.

Zvi Konikov, a local rabbi, recalled how Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, asked him before flight how to observe Shabbat for two weeks in orbit with multiple sunsets a day.

"Ilan gave us a powerful message: No matter how fast we are, no matter how important our work, we must stop and think about why we are here on Earth, and that is exactly what we are doing today - we pause to remember the memory of all these brave souls" , Konikov said.

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Columbia was destroyed on return on February 1, 2003, after a piece of foam from the fuel tank broke off and punctured the left wing during takeoff 16 days earlier.

The shuttle disintegrated over Texas just 16 minutes before it was scheduled to land in Florida.

NASA flight control did not pay due attention to the breach in the wing despite the concerns of many.

A similar system error led to the loss of the space shuttle Challenger during takeoff on January 28, 1986, killing all seven people on board, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.

A fire on the Apollo 1 launch pad claimed the lives of three astronauts on January 27, 1967.

Because these three tragedies occur early in the year, NASA has designated the last Thursday of each January as a date to commemorate its fallen astronauts.

At space centers across the country, flags were flown at half-staff as ceremonies were held, accompanied by discussions about spaceflight safety.

NASA