73 seconds after launch. The Challenger space shuttle rises higher and
higher toward space. Its iconic white solid rocket boosters roar as flames spew out the back of them.
The flight crew has continued to communicate with launch control since lift-off. No one knows that
anything is wrong and that in the next second, tragedy will strike. A fire rages along the
side of the right booster as fuel escapes due to a compromised seal. In moments, the
supporting struts connecting the rockets to the orange external fuel tank will experience a
catastrophic failure. The booster will slam into the tank. The rocket fuel will ignite,
and there will be a massive explosion. April 4, 1983: T minus 2 years and 9
months until the Challenger disaster. “All systems go. Prepare for liftoff,” mission
control says over the intercom to the Challenger flight crew. This will be the space shuttle's
maiden voyage. The boosters ignite, and the184 foot, 4.5-million-pound space shuttle thrusts
toward space. The first mission was a success, and the Challenger space shuttle will end up
flying 6 more missions that year. The shuttle is reliable, but every time it launches into
space and lands after re-entry, a toll is taken on the spacecraft. Constant repairs need to be
made while old components are swapped out for new ones. Engineers who work on the shuttle day
in and day out warn NASA that the stresses that constant missions to space place on the space
shuttle may lead to tragedy in the future. July 19, 1985 T minus 6 months
until the Challenger disaster. “We are pleased to inform you that you have
been selected to become the first teacher to go to space.” Christa McAuliffe can’t believe
the words she has just read. Several months ago, she submitted her application to the
NASA Teacher in Space Project along with 11,000 other educators. Never in her wildest
dreams did she believe she would be chosen. However, this letter confirms that she will, in
fact, be going to space and that she will be lucky enough to share this incredible experience with
students across the country when she gets back. McAuliffe teaches at Concord High
School in New Hampshire. When she tells her colleagues the news, they
are elated. Her family, friends, and students are all extremely happy for her.
As a part of the Teacher in Space Project, she will conduct two lessons from orbit and embark
on a lecture series across the United States to share her experience with students. This will
be done to highlight the importance of teachers in the country and hopefully inspire students
to pursue careers in technology and science. Over the next several months, McAuliffe
joins her fellow crewmates at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they
train and prepare for their coming mission. Francis R. Scobee will be the commander
of the spacecraft. In April of 1984, he piloted Challenger mission STS-41-C which
deployed a new satellite and repaired a damaged satellite before returning to Earth. Since then,
he has been an instructor pilot for the Shuttle's 747 carrier aircraft. This will be his first
space command, and he couldn’t be more excited. Piloting the mission will be Michael J. Smith.
He has flown 28 different types of civilian and military aircraft and logged 4,867 hours
of flight time. Judith A. Resnik will be one of the mission specialists on board.
Resnik had been part of Astronaut Group 8, which was the first to include women on the
team. She has developed a variety of software and procedures that are utilized throughout
NASA. She has been to space before aboard the STS-41-D mission in August 1984. This was the
very first mission of the space shuttle Discovery. Two other mission specialists are a
part of the Challenger crew as well. Ronald E. McNair flew aboard Challenger in
February 1984 during mission STS-41-B. It was on this mission that he became the second
African American man to fly in space. Ellison S. Onizuka was the first Asian American
and the first person of Japanese origin to reach space during his time aboard the
space shuttle Discovery during STS-51-C. The final crew member aboard the upcoming
Challenger launch designated STS-51-L is Gregory B. Jarvis. He’s the payload specialist.
This will be his first time in space, although he had been slated to fly aboard a different
shuttle in April of 1985, but his spot was given to U.S. senator Jake Garn instead. Then a similar
situation happened again in early January 1986 when U.S. representative Bill Nelson took his
place aboard another space shuttle. Now Jarvis finally has the opportunity to reach space where
he can put his astronaut training to good use. But like every other member of the crew, he will
never actually make it beyond Earth’s atmosphere. January 22, 1986: T minus 6 days
until the Challenger disaster. The Challenger crew eagerly awaits confirmation
of whether their mission is a go or not. A high-ranking NASA officer enters the room with
a frown on his face. “Sorry about this crew, but we’re going to have to delay your mission
until 61-C gets back. Their assignment ran into delays, and their shuttle isn’t due to land
until tomorrow.” The Challenger crew looks at one another in dismay. They are eager to
get going. Every mission to space is special, and even for veteran astronauts,
it’s what they dream about doing every night. It’s as if the stars are
beckoning them to reach for the unknown. January 27, 1986: T minus 1 day
until the Challenger disaster. Challenger mission STS-51-L is planned to have
an early morning lift-off the following day. The astronauts toss and turn in their beds in
anticipation. A chill sweeps across Florida as if foreshadowing the ominous events that
will happen in the coming hours. The launch pad becomes covered in thick ice; the metals
that make up the space shuttle and boosters contract slightly with the cold. As engineers
check the spacecraft over and over again to make sure it’s in an acceptable condition for
launch, a disturbing realization surfaces. “Sir, I want to reiterate that I am concerned
about the reliability of the seals in the rockets,” an engineer explains to
his superior. For over two years, the engineers and technicians that work
in the shuttle program have warned that the space shuttles are being overused.
The crafts are sturdy and well made, but every machine has its breaking point,
and it feels as if, after dozens of flights, it’s only a matter of time before something
tragic happens. The NASA official acknowledges the engineer's concern but does nothing
more. The launch will commence as scheduled, regardless of the warnings voiced by the men
and women working directly with the spacecraft. January 28, 1986: 9:00 a.m.: T minus 2 hours
and 38 minutes until the Challenger disaster. The sun is rising higher and higher over the
Atlantic Ocean. A crowd gathers around Cape Canaveral to watch the launch at Kennedy Space
Center scheduled for later that morning. There are members of the press, local residents, and
people who have traveled from around the world to watch the launch. Many are there to witness
the historic event of the first teacher to go to space. Excitement and anticipation fill
the air. This will be the 25th space shuttle launch and the 10th Challenger mission.
All other flights have been successful, so there is no reason to suspect
today should be any different. The astronauts don their suits and proceed
to their launch vehicle. They are greeted by cheers as they step off their transport and
proceed towards the elevator that will carry them to the cockpit of the Challenger.
Mission control in Houston prepares to track and monitor the space shuttle's progress.
Telemetry coming in from hundreds of sensors is recorded and double-checked to make sure that
Challenger is ready. The astronauts strap in, and the shuttle door is sealed behind them.
The cockpit is quiet except for the sounds of switches being engaged while Socbee and
Smith check the systems on board. There is a sense of anxiousness, excitement, and pride
as the seven-person crew prepares for launch. McAuliffe looks out the window directly
ahead of her at the blue sky. Just beyond the atmosphere lies the edge of space. A bird
flies pasts; McAuliffe smiles. Soon she will be doing something that only a handful
of people in all of history have done. She checks her safety harness and leans
back in her seat, releasing a long sigh. Besides the crew, the shuttle also
carries a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite designated TDRS-B. Also in the
cargo bay is the Spartan Halley spacecraft, which is designed to be released from Challenger
to study Halley’s Comet for two days while the celestial object approaches the sun. The small
satellite will then be picked up by the Challenger crew and brought back to Earth so scientists can
analyze the data it has collected. Tragically, no one and nothing aboard Challenger will
survive to perform this series of tests. January 28, 1986: 11:38: T
minus 10 seconds until launch. Due to weather conditions, the launch
has been delayed yet again. However, the atmosphere is beginning to
cooperate. The sky clears up, and the wind clams. Commander Scobee and Pilot
Smith check their sensors and instruments one last time as they prepare for the rockets to fire.
Mission control reaches the end of its countdown. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. We have main engine
start. 4. 3. 2. 1 and liftoff. Moments before the engines ignite and the space
shuttle rises, the solid rocket ignition command is sent. The boosters roar to life. The space
shuttle and earth around the launchpad begin to shake. The sound travels across the water and
reaches the bystanders watching the space shuttle launch from miles away. Astronaut Judy Resnik is
heard over the intercom. “All right!” she yells. Challenger Space Shuttle achieves liftoff. After the rockets ignite eight 25-inch-long,
7-inch-wide exploding bolts fire. The Challenger space shuttle is free to rise into the
sky. The deafening boom of the engines, massive amounts of smoke, and intense heat roll
across the launch pad. A quarter of a second after launch, sensors record the first vertical
motion of Challenger as it begins its ascent. Unknown to anyone on board or at mission control, an abnormal black smoke is seeping out of the
right solid rocket booster near the location of one of the O-ring joints. This is the first sign
that something is about to go terribly wrong. 1 second after liftoff. “Here we go!” Pilot Michael Smith
says over the intercom. As the space shuttle proceeds toward the heavens, the
black smoke coming from the right rocket seems to be slowing down.
3 seconds after liftoff. Launch commentator Hugh Hariss has just finished
the countdown and pauses for a moment to watch. He announces on NASA-SELECT television,
“Liftoff of the 25th space shuttle mission, and it has cleared the tower." The
abnormal black smoke coming from the bottom of the solid rocket booster
appears to have disappeared completely. 5 seconds after liftoff. All systems go. There are no anomalies
detected by anyone at this point in the launch. The three liquid-fueled main engines
on the back of the space shuttle are throttled up from 90% to 104% thrust. Everything is
going according to plan. At mission control, data processing systems engineer A.F. Algate
confirms liftoff. There is a cheer in the room then everyone immediately goes back to monitoring
their stations. Suddenly, there is a data blackout from the space shuttle. No one panics. This is to
be expected as the flames and structures around the launch complex interfere with the radio
signals being sent to the antenna complex. But there is one piece of data that is slightly
unnerving. “I’m reading the internal pressure on the right-side booster to be 11.8 pounds
per square inch higher than normal,” one of the technicians in mission control says. The
rocket is still within acceptable parameters, but this initial data point will be used later on to identify when the Challenger space
shuttle began to run into trouble. 8 seconds after liftoff. Once Challenger is in the open air, Pilot
Smith begins a roll maneuver that puts the crew in a heads down position so the top
of the space shuttle is pointing towards the Earth and the bright orange external
fuel tank is towards the sky. "Houston, Challenger. Roll program," Commander
Scobee says over the intercom. "Roger roll, Challenger," Astronaut Dick
Covey says from mission control. "Good roll, flight," Flight dynamics officer Brian
Perry confirms from the control room.
19 seconds after liftoff. The Challenge space shuttle begins
to shake. There is a sudden violent thrust to the side. The crew grits their
teeth as Michael Smith pulls on the flight stick slightly. With the help of the NAV
system, the space shuttle realigns itself, and Challenger is back on course. "Looks like
we've got a lot of wind here today,” says Smith over the intercom. Commander Scobee confirms
the assessment. They begin throttling down the three main engines of the space shuttle to 94%
thrust as planned at this point in the flight. 21 seconds after liftoff. Challenger’s roll maneuver is completed,
and all systems confirm it is on the proper trajectory to reach orbit. Commander
Scobee looks out the cockpit window, hoping to get a glimpse of the land
below. "It's a little hard to see out my window here,” he says. The
engines continue to throttle down. 28 seconds after liftoff. "There's 10,000 feet, and Mach point
five,” Smith says over the intercom. Challenger is now traveling at half the speed
of sound and is 10,000 feet above the surface of the planet. It’s at this point that the
space shuttle begins reaching the region of maximum aerodynamic pressure. Mission control
confirms that engines are throttling down to 94% and remind the flight crew that they will be
throttling down to 65% thrust in a few seconds. 35 seconds after liftoff. Smith begins to throttle down the engines some
more. All data indicates that the shuttle’s computer systems are making the proper adjustments
to deal with the wind shear. 5 seconds later, Smith confirms that they have reached
Mach 1. Scobee adds that they are passing 19,000 feet in altitude.
45 seconds after liftoff. There is a bright flash slightly behind the
space shuttle’s right wing. Moments later, there is a second bright flash. 48 seconds after liftoff. A third flash appears downstream
of Challenger's right wing. The crew can’t see these ominous explosions,
but a 70-millimeter tracking camera captures them as it zooms in on the shuttle for
a close-up view. Everyone who is viewing the footage is baffled at what they are
witnessing. Suddenly an orange ball of flames erupts from under the right wing. This
fireball is coming from the right booster. The Challenger crew and mission control
have no idea that anything is wrong as the space shuttle’s telemetry
all reads nominal. The fireball from under the wing merges with the
flames of the solid rocket boosters. 58 seconds after liftoff. Challenger accelerates past 1,539 miles per
hour or 2,477 kilometers per hour. It has an altitude of 26,127 feet or 7,963.5 meters.
Scobee gives the command to throttle the engines back as planned. Smith confirms the
command. Mission control confirms that the three engines of the space shuttle
have throttled down to 65% thrust. While this is happening, the tracking
camera on the ground observes the first evidence that there is now something seriously
wrong with the right solid rocket booster. An abnormal plume of smoke has begun pouring
out of the rocket. The Challenger crew has no sensors in the cockpit that display the
performance of the solid rocket boosters and, therefore, are unaware that
they are in serious danger. A second later, Challenger passes through the
region of maximum aerodynamic pressure, which pushes against the space shuttle and its boosters
with 720 pounds of pressure per square foot or 7,750 pounds per square meter. The plume of smoke
coming from the side of the booster intensifies. Inside the booster itself, an O-ring has
disintegrated, the very same component that engineers at NASA were warning would fail
if the space shuttle launches were not dialed back. The O-ring on the booster was meant
to seal the joints between separate parts of the rocket and prevent the leaking
of fluids and gasses from one chamber to another. With the O-ring destroyed, fuel
is making its way through the booster and igniting due to the intense heat of the flames.
A continuous inferno is expelled from the right booster along the side furthest away from the
space shuttle. The windows in the cockpit give Scobee and Smith limited visibility, and they
are not able to see the fire from the shuttle. 60 seconds after liftoff. "Feel that mother go!" Smith says over the
intercom. Another member of the crew is heard yelling with joy in the background. At that
moment, mission control receives data that indicates the internal pressure in the right
side solid rocket booster has begun to drop. It’s not known at the time, but this severe drop
in pressure is the result of the hole created by the ignited fuel spewing out the side of
the rocket where the O-ring has failed. The flames pouring out of the side of
the rocket begin to lick the fitting attachments that couple the back end of the
booster to the external fuel tank on the underside of the space shuttle. This starts
to degrade the integrity of the couplings. 62 seconds after liftoff. Challenger shudders once again from high
wind speeds. The shuttle rolls slightly to compensate as it passes 35,000 feet and
approaches Mach 1.5. The wind is worse than predicted and stronger than any of the
previous 24 shuttle missions. However, it’s still within acceptable limits, even if
it puts slightly more stress on the shuttle. 64 seconds after liftoff. The flame in the right side booster changes shape
suddenly as the heat from the fire melts through metal plating, and liquid hydrogen begins
to fuel the fire. The glow on the outside of the booster intensifies. As the force of the
raging fire builds up, it begins to move the engine nozzle in large arcs. This momentum
begins to shift the space shuttles course, which the computer then adjusts for. The
right booster’s thrust levels are thrown off due to the leaking fuel and fire burning
on the side. However, the NAV system manages to compensate. Tremors vibrate through the
cockpit as the hydrogen fuel is ignited but gets lost in the turbulence experienced due
to the massive acceleration and wind sheers. 66 seconds after liftoff. "Throttle up, three at 104,” mission control says
over the com. Houston and the Challenger flight crew are still unaware of the fire coming
out of the middle of the right booster, and other than a drop in pressure, there is no
indication that there is a serious problem. The fire outside of the shuttle spread further. The
flames creep toward the belly of the shuttle, where the external liquid hydrogen tank
is located. The pressure inside the fuel tank suddenly begins to drop, indicating that an
alarming amount of liquid hydrogen is leaking out. The fuel tank gauge plummets inside the cockpit, but Smith and Scobee don’t notice it as they
are focused on throttling up the engines and preparing to disengage the boosters. Even if
either crewmember was looking at the fuel gauge, the rapid dropping of pressure happened so
quickly that there was nothing they could have done. The fuel tank can only be disengaged
when all other engines are turned off, and the shuttle is in a benign aerodynamic
environment higher up in the atmosphere. If they had disengaged the fuel tank to get away
from the leak at this stage, the Challenger would have been forced into the fuel tank and
the still-burning solid rocket booster exhaust. 68 seconds after liftoff. The fire spewing from the side of the
rocket connects to the exhaust plume. The liquid oxygen propellant being fed into
the main engines of the space shuttle falls drastically. Smith continues to throttle
up the engines to reach 104% thrust. 72 seconds after liftoff. The back end of the right booster is ripped
away from the external fuel tank. The strut that had been securing it has been compromised
and failed. The back end of the right booster is now moving up and down relative to the space
shuttle and fuel tank. Another explosion, likely from the stress and leaking
fuel, occurs higher up on the booster near Challenger’s cabin. The flame near
the top of the booster grows rapidly, creating an enormous fireball. The nozzles of
the engines on the back of the space shuttle begin moving at a rate of 5 feet per second in
order to compensate for the unhinged booster. The top of the right booster is
still connected to the fuel tank, but the loose back end causes a burst
of lateral acceleration that jerks the shuttle. The main engine pressure
decreases. Engine nozzle motion rates are off the chart. Things are very, very bad.
Challenger sends its final navigation update. 73 seconds after liftoff. “Uh oh…” Smith says. These will be the last words
uttered over the comms by any of the Challenger crew. It’s not clear what Smith is referring
to, but it’s likely that several sensors begin showing clear signs that something is wrong. The
fuel tank and loose booster begin breaking apart. The shuttle jerks the opposite way it had moments
before. The right booster is now producing 100,000 pounds of thrust less than the left booster.
The unbalanced acceleration begins forcing the right booster up into the liquid
oxygen section of the external fuel tank. Liquid hydrogen and oxygen begin leaking out of
the external tank. A cloud of fuel accumulates outside. The right-side booster pushes
further into the fuel tank and increases the amount of liquid oxygen being expelled.
Milliseconds later, the inevitable happens. There is a bright flash of light located between
the Challenger shuttle and the external fuel tank. The leaking fuel has been ignited. The fireball
engulfs the space shuttle. There is a crackling sound over the intercom as ground transmitters
search for a signal that is no longer there. Another explosion occurs near the front of the
external fuel tank. This ignites the remainder of the fuel inside the front section of the tank,
causing it to detonate. Challenger’s engines redline and the computer initiates an emergency
shutdown. Main engine 3 goes first, followed by number 1. The last telemetry signal from the space
shuttle is sent while it is being torn apart. 74 seconds after liftoff. The radio signal from Challenger goes silent. Another explosion occurs near the space shuttle's
nose. The cockpit with all seven members of the crew is engulfed in flames as the rocket fuel
in the forward reaction control system ignites. The debris of the destroyed shuttle continues
traveling upward at Mach 1.92, or approximately twice the speed of sound. It reaches an altitude
of 46,000 feet or 14,021 meters. Challenger’s tail emerges from the fireball around the same moment
that a wing can be seen. The fuselage and payload bay are torn apart by the rush of air forced in
from the tail being ripped off, overpressurizing the payload bay and breaking it apart from the
inside out. Wires and electrical cables flail behind the fuselage like tentacles. The satellites
in the cargo bay are ejected into the air. The crew cabin arcs out of the flames
and smoke. It seems to be intact, although there is a gaping hole where it
used to be connected to the rest of the shuttle. Some of the crew may still be alive and
awake, but when the Challenger is ripped apart, all of the air is sucked out of the cockpit,
and a dramatic pressure drops results in everyone passing out. For this mission, the
astronauts did not wear pressurized suits during liftoff. As they slump in their seats
unconscious, oxygen deprivation settles in. Any crewmember who is still alive will
suffocate within the next few minutes. The two solid rocket boosters continue
to fly upwards at different angles, now free from the struts that connected
them to the external fuel tank. 1 second after the Challenger
space shuttle explodes. Mission control does not yet know that the
Challenger space shuttle has exploded. "One minute 15 seconds. Velocity 2,900 feet per second.
Altitude nine nautical miles. Downrange distance seven nautical miles," says Stephen Nesbitt,
the public affairs officer at mission control. 2 seconds after the Challenger
space shuttle explodes. A parachute emerges from the carnage, giving
people hope. But as the tracking camera focuses, it turns out to be the nose cap of the
right solid rocket booster. Smoke and flaming debris arc outward from the blast.
The rocket boosters continue to fly upward, leaving a corkscrew trail of smoke behind them. 15 seconds after the Challenger
space shuttle explodes. "Flight, GC, we've had negative contact,
loss of downlink," says ground control engineer N.R. Talbott. It’s at this
point that mission control is aware something tragic has happened and
is trying to figure out exactly what happened. They are informed that the
Challenger space shuttle has been lost. 36 seconds after the Challenger
space shuttle explodes. A self-destruct signal is sent to the
rogue solid rocket boosters triggering an emergency detonation. Both rockets explode
in a plume of black smoke. Debris falls back towards the Earth. Without the weight
of the space shuttle and fuel tank, there was no telling how far the rockets
would have gone before burning the last of their fuel. They needed to be detonated
to eliminate the risk of them crashing back to Earth in a populated area rather than in
the desolate waters of the Atlantic Ocean. 1 minute and 31 seconds after the
Challenger space shuttle explodes. Multiple sources have now confirmed that Challenger STS-51-L has been
lost. Rescue efforts are launched. 2 minutes and 11 seconds after the
Challenger space shuttle explodes. The TV tracking camera spots the first pieces
of the space shuttle crashing into the ocean. 33 seconds later, the crew cabin slams into
the waves of the Atlantic at approximately 200 miles per hour or 322 kilometers per hour. At a
breaking force 200 times that of normal gravity, the crew cabin disintegrates on impact and
sinks 100 feet to the bottom of the ocean. For the next few minutes, debris continues to
splash down into the ocean east of Patrick Air Force Base. A cloud of brown smoke lingers
over the surface of the water as a result of the hydrazine rocket fuel that covered the
wreckage as it entered the ocean. Mission control pinpoints the crash site as being approximately
28.64 degrees North and 80.28 degrees West. 5 minutes after the Challenger
space shuttle explodes. The broadcast on NASA television has been
eerily quiet as everyone tries to take in what just happened. The camera view switches
from the ocean back to the grandstand at the press site. Observers stand with their
backs to the camera, looking up at the sky, where a white cloud of smoke still lingers.
White wisps of haze extend from the explosion site like weeping willow vines indicating
where burning debris fell from the sky. 8 minutes and 5 seconds after the
Challenger space shuttle explodes. "This is mission control, Houston. We are
coordinating with recovery forces in the field. Range safety equipment, recovery vehicles intended
for the recovery of the SRBs in the general area," says Stephen Nesbitt in a somber voice. The
only thing left to do is go through the data, recover as much of the space shuttle as
possible, and determine what caused the horrific accident that led to the loss of 7
people aboard the Challenger space shuttle. March 7, 1986, 1 month and 10 days after
the Challenger space shuttle disaster. The USS Preserver bobs up and down in
the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A dive team has just been deployed to
scout the hypothesized location of the Challenger cabin. The divers locate
the wreckage that was the front of the space shuttle and confirm that the
bodies of the crew are still inside. The aftermath of the Challenger
space shuttle disaster. All space shuttles are immediately grounded, and
any upcoming launches are canceled pending a full investigation of what happened to the Challenger.
NASA and a group of men appointed by President Ronald Regan, known as the Rogers Commission,
begin looking into the chain of events that led to the loss of the space shuttle and its crew. It’s
concluded that the space shuttles are being pushed too hard, and the concerns of engineers working on
the crafts are being ignored or overlooked. What it came down to was that NASA has been trying
to accomplish too much with too little funding. The investigation also determines that
the two rubber O-rings, which led to the fuel leak in the right booster and eventual
catastrophic explosion of the external fuel tank, were compromised by the severe cold from
the night before the launch. Unfortunately, even if the crew had been aware of a problem
at liftoff, there would have been no way for them to avoid the disastrous consequences.
The space shuttle wouldn’t have been able to survive a high-speed separation even if it was
attempted before the external fuel tank exploded. On June 6, the report is given to the President,
who determines Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Morton Thiokol Inc.,
and NASA as a whole are responsible for the Challenger disaster. Marshall Space Flight
Center constructed the shuttle boosters, engines, and tank, while Morton Thiokol
manufactured and built the booster motors. It’s also uncovered during the investigation from
several engineers who testify that they expressed concerns specifically about the O-rings and their
seals to their supervisors for at least two years prior to the loss of the Challenger. The Rogers
Commission recommends that communication between engineers and NASA management be tightened,
quality control procedures be improved, and several more checkpoints be added
to the shuttle safety advisory panel. On September 29, 1988, the space shuttle Discovery
launches with five veteran astronauts on board. This is the first mission since the Challenger
disaster. The space shuttle program lasts for 23 more years. On July 8, 2011, Atlantis launches
from Cape Canaveral. It will be the 135th space shuttle mission. Atlantis lands on Jul 21, 2011,
marking the official end of the space shuttle era. Two space shuttles were lost during the 30
years that they were in use. On February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as
it reentered the atmosphere, and on January 28, 1986, Challenger exploded due to a faulty
O-ring. Both crafts held a crew of 7, all of which were lost and all of which were heroes.
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