I still remember the shock and the news media playing the explosion over and over again on TV.

I was in a bar having a beer and you could have heard a pin drop.
Such a shame.

Astronauts understand that there is risk, but feel the mission is worth the risk.

The problem with the Challenger incident was that they let a sweet, appealing schoolteacher join the team.  The public became very upset when she died, because she was perceived (correctly) as not being a "real" astronaut, but more like an innocent victim.  

The incident set the whole space program back several years.  Very frustrating for my buddy, although he eventually got several shuttle missions.

...some agency would find a way to sell tickets to the public.  

These missions are incredibly dangerous, and could potentially result in catastrophic loss of life at any time.

On the anniversary of the accident, I remembered all the brave astronauts on the Challenger with a moment of silence.  They put their lives on the line for the advancement of space travel for the human race.  

May they all rest in peace and may their hopes for the future of space exploration for humankind someday be realized.

but in all I have read about astronauts one common these seems to be common...

They know the risk, and are of the belief that if anything should ever happen to them, they would want the program to continue forward. I think teh one area where we failed was we let the space program take such a hit for this accident.