FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2013 file photo, recording artist Beyonce performs at Super Bowl XLVII, in New Orleans. Beyonce stopped short of apologizing for using a sample of audio from the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in a statement released on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, to ABC. The pop superstar explained the use of the short snippet at the beginning of her song "XO" from her new self-titled album after it brought criticism from the wife of the commander at the helm of the Challenger when it exploded in 1986 and others. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
December 31, 2013 - 3:31 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - NASA officials say the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger accident "should never be trivialized" in response to a new song from Beyonce that features an audio sample recorded just after tragedy struck.
The space agency issued a statement late Tuesday after the pop star began to receive criticism from Challenger families and others for using the short sample. It includes the words "major malfunction" as an allusion to a failed relationship.
In a statement to ABC News on Tuesday, Beyonce said her "heart goes out to families of those lost in the Challenger disaster" and the song was recorded with the "sincerest intention" to help those who've lost loved ones.
The snippet comes at the beginning of her song "XO" from her new self-titled album.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013