On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift off, killing the seven crew members on board. The space shuttle disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast ...

For millions, it was an event that would be seared into their memories for the rest of their lives – on par with the Kennedy assassination and 9/11.

The world was shocked and saddened 39 years ago after the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy. The crewed shuttle mission for NASA ended moments after the launch with a terrible mid-air explosion on Jan.

The Challenger disaster, which occurred on January 28, 1986, remains one of the most heartbreaking events in space exploration. The tragedy was caused by a failure in the shuttle’s solid rocket ...

1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven crew members. Two O-rings in the right solid rocket booster failed on launch due ...

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the Space Shuttle ... of Jan. 28, 1986, Floridians saw the familiar plume from the launch fork off in two ...