Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion
Cape Canaveral, FL
January 28, 1986
The launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, was the 25th launch of a space shuttle and the tenth launch of Challenger. The vehicle exploded 73 seconds after lift off, killing the seven astronauts aboard. Among the crew of astronauts was Christa MacAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire. The explosion was caused by a failure of an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster. The failure of the seal caused a leak with a flame, that caused another leak in the hydrogen fuel tank. The resulting explosion caused the shuttle to break apart and plunge into the ocean. |
