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Challenger Disaster

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28th January 1986: The space shuttle Challenger (STS-51L) takes off from the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. 73 seconds later the shuttle exploded, killing its seven crew members. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

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Challenger Explosion

Space Shuttle Program In 1976, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the world’s first reusable manned spacecraft, known as the space shuttle. Five years later, flights began when the space shuttle Columbia embarked on a 54-hour mission. Launched by two solid-rocket boosters and its main engines, the aircraft-like shuttle entered into orbit around […]

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Big Bird Nearly Rode on the Disastrous Challenger Mission

Caroll Spinney—the puppeteer in the yellow suit—was in talks to go to space.

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The Challenger lifting off Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 11:38 a.m. on January 28, 1986. (Credit: NASA/AP)

What Caused the Challenger Disaster?

Seven lives were lost as communications failed in the face of public pressure to proceed with the launch despite dangerously cold conditions.

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Five astronauts and two payload specialists make up the STS 51-L crew, scheduled to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in January of 1986. Crewmembers are (left to right, front row) astronauts Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ronald E. McNair; and Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik. McAuliffe and Jarvis are payload specialists, representing the Teacher in Space Project and Hughes Co., respectively.

5 Things You May Not Know About the Challenger Shuttle Disaster

The space shuttle Challenger blew apart some 73 seconds after lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

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This Day in History


1986

The space shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff

Space Exploration
2003

Columbia Space Shuttle mission ends in disaster

Space Exploration
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