The Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after launch
On this day · 28 January 1986
Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, a failed seal turned a televised launch into a national tragedy watched live in classrooms.
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members of mission STS-51L. Among them was Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first teacher in space — the reason so many schoolchildren were watching live.
The cause traced back to a pair of rubber O-rings meant to seal a joint on the right solid rocket booster. Unusually cold weather at the Florida launch site stiffened the seals, letting hot exhaust gas escape and burn into the external fuel tank until the vehicle tore apart over the Atlantic.
It was the first in-flight loss of a U.S. spacecraft and crew. The Rogers Commission that followed exposed not just a faulty part but a flawed safety culture, and NASA grounded the shuttle fleet for nearly three years while it rebuilt both hardware and decision-making.
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