28th January 1986: An abstract smoke pattern after the space shuttle Challenger explosion, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Dave Welcher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
NASA’s space shuttle Challenger broke apart during launch on January 28, 1986, killing all on board.
The space shuttle’s seven crew members died, including one civilian teacher.
The tragedy changed the course of NASA’s future.
On the morning of January 28, 1986, seven crew members were killed when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart a little over a minute after it launched.
Those killed included five NASA astronauts, one payload specialist, and a civilian schoolteacher.
This mission was Challenger’s 10th, but the shuttle exploded due to a design flaw in a seal that was exacerbated by cold temperatures on launch day. A joint in one of the rocket boosters failed at liftoff, and the external fuel tank subsequently collapsed, leading to the demise of the vehicle.
Challenger was the second shuttle to reach space, which it did in April 1983. It also sent the first African-American astronaut into space, completed the first in-flight capture and repair of a satellite, and launched the first US woman in space.
The 1986 disaster marked a turning point for NASA. An investigation after the explosion found that many engineers and astronauts believed NASA was pushing its programs forward at breakneck speed, without sufficient funding or testing. NASA added more internal checks and processes after the event to prevent similar tragedies.
The space agency also stopped sending civilians on potentially dangerous space-shuttle missions.Â
Photos show the many missions of Challenger and its tragic end.
NASA unveiled Challenger to the public in 1982.
Challenger was unveiled after STS-4 landing at Ellington Air Force Base on July 6, 1982.
NASA
The new orbiter sat atop a 747 carrier aircraft.
Challenger was named after the British HMS Challenger ship.
NASA
The ship led the Challenger Expedition: a groundbreaking marine research trip from 1872 to 1876.
Challenger’s first mission, called STS-6, launched on April 6, 1983.
NASA
For its maiden voyage, the Challenger deployed a communications satellite and conducted a space walk.
After that first flight, Challenger flew 85% of all space-shuttle missions during its lifetime.
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the Challenger in 1983.
NASA
Sally Ride served as a mission specialist in 1983 and returned to space on the Challenger in 1984.
Guion Bluford became the first African-American astronaut in space when he flew on Challenger’s STS-8 mission in August 1983.
NASA
Bluford flew to space a total of four times.
Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first person to fly unconnected to a spacecraft during a Challenger mission called STS-41B.
NASA
“It may have been one small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me,” McCandless said of his untethered space walk, according to NASA.
The crew members who died when Challenger exploded in 1986 were part of the STS-51L mission.
NASA
The crew consisted of teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe, astronauts Gregory Jarvis and Judith Resnik, mission commander Dick Scobee, astronaut Ronald McNair, pilot Mike Smith, and astronaut Ellison Onizuka.
On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after it took off for its 10th mission.
28th January 1986: An abstract smoke pattern after the space shuttle Challenger explosion, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Dave Welcher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The cause of the malfunction was later found to be rubber O-rings that were not sealed properly on the right Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster due to the cold weather.
The disaster was broadcast on live television.
The remains of Challenger were collected and memorialized in a retired Minuteman missile silo at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA
A memorial marker was also dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery in 1987, with the grave site featuring cremated remains from all seven crew members.
NASA’s space-shuttle program lasted from 1981 to 2011.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES – 2020/05/30: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building following the successful launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station, becoming the first people to launch into space from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
In place of a national space-shuttle program, NASA has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to develop new vehicles for returning astronauts to the moon.
In May 2020, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken flew on SpaceX’s first crewed mission and became the first astronauts to launch into space from the US since NASA’s space-shuttle program ended in 2011. They spent two months on the International Space Station before returning in August 2020.
