A Brief History
On January 28, 1986, the U.S. space shuttle Challenger took off right on schedule, only to explode 74 seconds later, killing all seven crew members on board in front of a horrified live television audience.
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find Challenger, having made 9 previous successful flights and having traveled over 25 million miles in its career prior to the tragedy.
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The crew, who had planned to study Halley’s Comet as part of their mission, also included a civilian, Mrs. Sharon Christa McAuliffe. Mrs. McAuliffe, who was from New Hampshire, had won a contest to become first “ordinary citizen” in space. The high school teacher became an instant celebrity as news of her participation spread all over the world. She intended to give a few Science lessons from space.
The Challenger, on its 10th mission, lifted off at about eleven in the morning. Traveling at about twice the speed of sound, less than 2 minutes into its flight, an O-ring on one of the main rocket engines failed, causing fuel to leak, which then led to a fire and then to the explosion. The weather in Florida had been unusually cold, and engineers recommended the flight be postponed. Impatient officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) insisted on launching anyway, and the cold is believed to have been the cause for the O-ring failure.
Unfortunately, all seven crew members died in the explosion and crash. It was initially reported that the crew was killed immediately in the enormous explosion, but later it was determined that the cabin of the shuttle did not explode but detached from the rest of the orbiter, and it was surmised that the crew probably died upon impact with the Atlantic Ocean.
America was devastated by the first fatal in-flight space accident, especially the many school-age children who were following the take off on TV to see the Challenger carry a teacher (McAuliffe) into space.
President Ronald Reagan announced a week of mourning as a sign of respect for the crew who lost their lives for the country. NASA also postponed further space shuttle flights indefinitely.
Investigations into the disaster produced conflicting results. Investigators also revealed that the engineers of the booster rockets had advised against launching the shuttle that morning as the below-freezing temperatures at Cape Canaveral were likely to damage the rockets.
This disaster caused an interruption in Space Shuttle flights of over two years while NASA studied the accident and took measures to ensure there would not be another O-ring failure. Unfortunately, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on reentry in 2003 as a result of having lost heat protective tiles at take off.
Oddly enough, Space Shuttle Challenger was named after a British ship, a corvette that led a scientific mission from 1872 to 1876 to study marine topics (called the Challenger Expedition).
All remaining Space Shuttles are retired now, and NASA is currently without a manned space craft.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Caper, William. The Challenger Space Shuttle Explosion (Code Red). Bearport Pub Co Inc, 2007.
Hansen, James R. and Allan J McDonald. Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. University Press of Florida, 2012.
The featured image in this article, Space Shuttle Challenger exploding shortly after take-off from http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2004-00012.html, is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that “NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted“.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1097 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1097">155 Comments
I had heard of the Challenger disaster, but I didn’t know that the Challenger had been up in space before! I was also unaware that a civilian was aboard when it crashed. I thought the crew was made up of all astronauts.
It is very interesting to here about all the engineers that opposed the launch that day. All of them stating that the weather would cause problems but no one listened to them.
I actually saw this disaster on TV when it occurred. I had no idea that the cause was weather related. They should have postponed this if they knew it could be disastrous. People watching did not need to see this tragedy.
I remember reading about this disaster when I was in high school. My mom says she remembers watching it on TV. It is pretty rediculous that no one heeded the weather warnings and, consequently, 7 people died.
I also didn’t realize that there was a civilian aboard when the Challenger crashed. I remember hearing a little about it when I was younger, but this post gave me more information. It is tragic that lives were lost when it could have been prevented if they had waited for better conditions.
It would be awesome to get the opportunity to go into space. It’s ashame that people had to lose their lives because of a mistake that could of been prevented.
I remember touching this topic in high school. It was always fascinated me to learn about space and the unknown. This was very tragic and knowing their was a civilian on board really saddens me. It is really upsetting we has to lose lives to learn about what to do and what not to do.
This is very sad to me that 7 people had to lose their lives because they didn’t take caution due to the weather. But I also respect and appreciate everything those people did for our Country and I think it would be an amazing experience to be able to go to space.
This was a very sad article. Having your dream come true to travel into space and then in just a few seconds, it gets ripped right our of your hands. It takes guts to fly into space, and yet, these six astronauts and a school teacher braved that fear and flew. It just sad they never made it out of the Earth’s atmosphere
I remember watching the live feed for this, It was horrific and sad to watch, I remember watching them entering the space shuttle and the smiles on their faces and all of the excitement that went along with it. The explosion was horrible and it seemed like it took forever to recover all of the body parts and pieces of the shuttle. The news coverage was much like that of 9/11.
Space exploration has always been interesting. Its very sad to think that all the individuals died. I think it would of been better to die in the explosion compared to the impact.
I have heard my family discuss their reactions to the failed launch. From listening to their stories I have felt like I was there. It must have been horrifying to watch. I can’t even imagine…
This is a story that i will never forget. I was not even born yet but it was a story that was always told to me as a kid. This was such a sad and tragic moment that even when it was told to me as a kid i would remember it as an adult.
This article made me remember my time in the Sebastian Inlet when I was surfing and the last space shuttle took off on July 8th. Watching the blast off was amazing, however freighting because you don’t know if part the shuttle will come off and blow up everyone inside.
This is one of the reasons i woud never attempt to go up in space
I remember watching this in school. And my heart hurts just the same as it did then.
I couldn’t imagine watching something like this live. It is so heartbreaking for the families of the deceased, especially knowing they actually watched it live back when it occurred.
I vaguely remember this, a tragedy that won’t be forgotten. Those brave souls were on the threshold of greatness and will always be known as heroes for piercing the sky.
This would be horrible to watch live especially if you were a family member of the people on the shuttle. This will always be remembered.
this was so heartbreakin and im glad i didnt get to watch it live. it brought me to tears just reading it
It’s a tragedy that people witnessed this event on live television and that it could have been prevented if NASA had simply postponed the takeoff.
What a great loss this caused. They will never be forgotten.
Yes, This was a terrible loss of life. And as someone said, it could all have been stopped if the take-off had been postponed. However, would of, could have, should of never changes anything.
It is always a risk to travel to space.
I couldnt even imagine witnessing such a thing especially if one were my relative
I was five years old when this happened. I remember my parents reaction, and how the televised disaster affected not just viewers, but the nation. The fact that a dream for those NASA astronauts became a demise.
I remember when this happened. But don’t you hate it when flights get cancelled when you are leaving for vacation? well we better be appreciative that they didn’t push the flight when it wasn’t ready. Things like this would happen all of the time. So tragic they pushed this to rocket off in a hurry.
definitely a shock
Wow I couldn’t imagine the impact that left on people in 1986. Very sad story
I think that the families of those killed in the crash should have sued NASA after the investigation proved that many people were against the shuttle taking off that morning. Just think, if they would have postponed the launch all of those people would have survived and the US would have had a successful mission. That’s not to say that something could have went wrong in space but I suppose we will never know.
traveling is a risk
I’m an alumni of the Upward Bound which is a pre-college program for low income an/or first generation college students. Upward Bound is one branch of Trio (U.S. higher education program) . another branch of the program is the Ronald McNair scholars. Ronald McNair is the African American guy in the photo. His scholarship pays for schooling way into your PH.D. I encourage anyone who has a strong desire for higher education but has financial, ethnicity and/or geography struggles to look into his story and scholarship.
Also, there is a monument to him at the North Carolina A&T. Very nice!
Very sad. Most my family no exactly where they were at the time. Video is very shocking
It is very sad that happened. They were just trying to further our knowledge but ended up losing their lives.
That is what happens when you rush things. NASA should have been sued by the families of the people who died.
This event is so sad, more precautions definitely should have been taken.
I also cannot imagine how devastating this would have been to watch live.
it was traumatic watching the Challenger explode on live television
This is such a tragedy! They should have been a lot more thorough before they let them take off.
This was talked about in the “Space Race” presentation on Monday, they even showed the video of it happening. It was crazy to watch such a terrible tragedy. Its even worse that they were warned not to go because the temperature, but still did.
I personally didn’t like watching this event in class,brought sadness. NASA should feel terrible for sending them up after being warned not too. Wasn’t there someone with a little common sense? These individuals are supposed to be smart
This was most definitely a traumatic event in our history.
This is a very sad tragic moment in history. I am thankful to have these brave people willing to discover these new things to better our knowledge!
I was in elementary school… but I remember it like it was yesterday! — DAVID WARDLE
Such a tragedy
Oh, man. Every time I hear and see about this sad event I get so emotional. I can’t imagine watching this unfold while being a small child that was excited to see a teacher go up into space.
This is one of the saddest days of our nation. These heroic astronauts will always be remembered.
I remember this tragic event. Very sad
Crazy how a hopeful, exciting time turned into such a devastating time.
The fact that this video was shown in schools across the country is sad
This is why you listen to your engineers.
Crazy how the mood probably changed from excited to devastating.
Dear AR,
It did indeed change like that. I was in elementary school when it happened and I remember watching it on TV. We were all excited to see a teacher a space and then it was like, “What happened?”
Sincerely,
Dr. Zar
Such a sad moment in life. Especially having this air on TV than seeing it explode live probably made it worse.
Pretty crazy how quick something can go wrong that you think you have in control. It only take a split second for a tragedy like this to happen.
I remember watching a space shuttle launch in elementary school and how excited we all were to see it launch. I imagine that after the explosion though there were a lot of upset children and a lot of adults with hard questions to answer.
This incident is one of those times where people tried to warn them against doing it, but they just thought they knew better. I can’t imagine what the families of the astronauts felt.
I can’t imagine what the little kids felt as they watched that on TV. How would you explain that to a child without upsetting them further?
I can’t imagine how tragic this would’ve been watching the shuttle explode on live television.
This is a terrible tragedy! Its also sad that Mrs. McAuliffe had won a contest to become first “ordinary citizen” in space and ended up losing her life.
I’ve seen many videos about this tragic accident. I could not even imagine sitting at home watching this on television.
I’ve also seen several videos on this matter. Such a horrific tragedy 🙁
I just recently discussed this horrific accident with my father, as he was one of the live television audience members. I cannot imagine having watched it live.
this had to of been terrible to watch on live television with it being so unexpected.
It’s sad to think that the tragedy could have been prevented. If NASA had listened and postponed the launch for a warmer day, the O-ring probably would not have malfunctioned and everything would have gone according to plan.
Watching this live would have been terrible. All happened from one simple flaw.
What a tragic accident
What a horrible incident. It must have been horrifying for the people watching live.
There is quite a lesson. NASA didn’t listen to the engineers and some of them were pressured not to speak up more aggressively.
Any time I see this I can’t help but think about the fact that i’m watching people more than likely die and i’m just at a loss for words.
This is awful but look how far our space program has come
NASA has come a long way since then. What a tragedy that must have been to watch it live.
What a terrible incident. The advances NASA has made is amazing if you look back to what it used to be
The fact that it happened on TV makes it that much worse.
watching this live must have been an embarrassment. the improvements in our country is great, especially what NASA is today.
NASA must have been kicking themselves when the space shuttle exploded. They knew the risk before launch and had the option of canceling the launch but the cameras were ready and whole country was watching so they took a risk and it did go well. That teacher’s class must have been so devastated.
My parents remember watching in class when this exploded. This was so interesting to me that when I went to the great lakes space center and asked about it they tried to tell me it didn’t happen… It’s sad because theres nothing on display there and the workers don’t even care to admit that it’s true. They shouldn’t have accepted it to go into flight.. Hopefully it’s a learned lesson.
This was a big tragedy, especially since so many people were watching it live. I cannot imagine the feelings of those children who had tuned in to watched their teacher only to witness this tragedy.
My mom told me this is one of those specific days in her lifetime that she will not forget. I can’t imagine watching it live.
I learned about the challenger growing up in school. It was a very sad accident that all crew members died. It’s even more terrifying that this was live and everyone knew there was nothing they could do..
Thats sad , idki couldnt watch it. As long as the people who died was okay with living or dying i guess. I wouldnt have.
I went to the Kennedy Space Museum in Florida a couple years ago and learned all about this tragic day.
I remember hearing somewhere else that they had probably survived until the landing in the ocean and this article also mentioned it. A shame that this happened.
I remember going to NASA in Florida when I was younger and learning about this.
Flying to space is a huge challenge every time and precautions should always be taken, especially when the engineers themselves recommend postponing.
I can remember watching the Challenger explosion from my fifth grade classroom.
It is so sad that the crew lost their lives because impatient NASA officials insisted on liftoff even though the engineers were against it. This could have been prevented if they would have listened to them.
This was a sad and horrific accident that might have been prevented.
If communication and technology would have been as advanced as they are now these kind of mistakes and accidents could have been prevented.
My dad actually tells me the story the day this happened. He was in 5th grade and the principal came over the pa system and said how the challenger had exploded.
I remember reading about this in my high school history class and remembering how sad this was.
I remember listening to stories about this and reading about it in high school history, it’s just such a great tragedy, because you would think that a space craft would be safe enough to not explode.
This has to be the biggest disaster NASA has ever experienced.
I have remember learning about the Challenger catching on fire after liftout but I never learned the whole story of what really happened. It is so sad that they were recommended not to go that day because of the unusually cold weather causing the fire.
to know that one small piece of plastic killed 7 of Americas brightest.
It is sad that so many bright people died. The challenger was a huge disaster.
I wish the engineers that recommended the Challenger not launch because of the cold were listened to in order to prevent this tragic event.
I have seen videos of this happening. I am this was such a sad event when it happened.
The engineers wanted to cancel the flight because of the cold weather but the popularity of seeing the flight on TV may have overturned the decision. My condolences are with the astronauts and their families.
If the people that know the most about something say to wait, you should wait.
It is pretty cool that a high school science teacher wanted to teach science in space. If the deaths DID NOT happen, it would have been cool to see my biology professor give lessons in space.
This just shows how the culture of tv really shaped our nation and some of our decisions. We should not have sent the flight because they were worried, we did anyway because the tv ratings.
I remember learning about this in middle school and high school. I think anyone willing to do this to make a discovery is very brave.
Unfortunate deaths. The world would have never been the same if this did not occur.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be sitting at home expecting such an amazing launch and then watching these people loose their lives.
I sat on our couch and watched this live! It was devastating! Something so exciting became so terribly tragic. I was not aware though that the engineers advised against is launch that day.
Who knows how differently this would have been perceived and reacted to if it wasn’t televised.
I remember hearing about this, I cannot even imagine what it was like to witness this.
We should remember these people, they sacrificed for the progress of human beings.
I’m sure anyone who saw this was scarred especially if they knew anyone at the launch. This was very sad.
These people were so brave, and they should be always remember. They dedicated themselves to the advance of human science.
These people were so brave.
this was a national tragedy and they will always be remembered.
This was a terrible thing. I hope all the scientist learned from it.
Space travel sounds so scary. Why anyone would ever want to be an astronaut is beyond me
I have heard many things about this tragic event. When visiting science centers such as COSI & the Great Lakes Science Center, many tributes to those lost in the Challenger disaster can be seen on display.
i am sorry about the people that killing in shuttle Challenger
I would like to take some classes in space. How cool would that be??
My mother was pregnant with me when this occurred, and I remember her telling me about it as a child. It was quite an impactful moment for people of this generation. I often wonder if it would resound as much sadness in our world today as it did then because we are so desensitized to tragedy today.
I was in 6th grade when this happened and we all watched it as a class, I’ll never forget that day.
I remember this vividly, I was 11 years old at the time and it was really the first tragedy I remember seeing on live TV. Still makes me feel sad to watch that video…
Gosh how terrible that these scientists were killed. Plus having it all live on tv makes it worse, sad story.
I watched The Challenger explode, it was devastating. I believe NASA officials are totally to blame for the loss of those 7 people. Shame on those officials for not listening to the experts who advised against it .
It is heartbreaking to hear the lives of amazing scientist were lost, and that it was on tv makes it even more devastating.
I actually remember this because it was a big day since a school teacher was going up in space. It was a shame to see it blow up on national t.v we were all watching.
I remember watching this in elementary school and not knowing what happened. This was such a devastating event that you will never forget where you were.
Such a devastating event and for it to happen at a school is heart breaking.
The build up to this event was so great. Imagine today with octal media. I watched it in my 4th grade class. Goes down in history as a sad day.
The loss of life on that day was unforgettable and as a young student in school watching the incident left a lasting impact. Unfortunate that poor leadership led to such a travesty.
This is horrible! My god I feel bad for those that lost their lives on this space shuttle. This is a horrific tragedy, all because of a defective O-ring.
I recall been in my classroom in Florida and we were watching the event on TV, when the horrible accident took placed. My teacher ran outside and we follow, you could see the large smoke and two side rockets going in opposite directions. It was to suppose to be a great day because the first school teacher was on the Shuttle, but it did not turn into that.
This was such a sad incident and one that could have been avoided if NASA had only postponed the launch. The Challenger flight represented much more than just another mission to space to study Hailey’s comet. It was suppose to represent that the average everyday American could travel into space, that it did not need to be a highly trained astronaut with years of training.
The explosion of the Challenger was devestating to the country. It put fear into people on sending people back out into space.
Such a sad story I remember studying about this in high school and watching old news clips about it. so sad.
I still remember until this day watching the launch while sitting in the cafeteria in first grade. I also remember watching the teachers crying as the explosion happened.
I cannot imagine the horrible feeling that swept the nation when this happened. To get so excited about something and it turn into tragedy in a matter of minutes.
I tend to think of how the Shuttle Challenger could have exploded even before two minutes after taking off yet the crew members could not realize the mistake so that they could save their lives. I try to think of the possible ways that could have been involved to save the lives of those people before the explosion to save the lives of these people.
To this day we still remember the lives lost when the Challenger exploded. I am glad NASA took this explosion to heart taking two years to investigate the disaster. Hopefully, we never experience a situation like this again.
NASA should always check to make sure everything is right before sending people to space and risk their lives.
I think NASA has made several changes due to this experience. One we will always remember. So sad.
It makes you think how something so great can change in the blink of an eye. Never take things for granted, such a tragedy caused by an O-ring failure.
I do not understand why when something like this is not 100% the decision to launch was still in place. It is easy, not 100%-not a go.
Maybe they should have listened to the engineers instead of going against their advice.
All good things don’t last!!!!
While I was only three when Challenger exploded my wife, who is a few years older, vividly remembers watching it on television live as it happened.However, I do remember the Columbia disaster from 2003. Hard to believe that we are approaching 20 years since it happened.
It was a terrible tragedy that’s for certain. Even the thought of many small faces glued to the television screen to watch the takeoff and witness the tragedy first hand is horrible,
My parents remember this space shuttle taking off, that would be horrifying to watch on television.
The Challenger disaster just goes to show you that space flight is dangerous. Imagine how the impatient NASA officials must have felt after the tragedy to know that the incident could have been avoided if they had listened to the engineers. I also believe President Regan’s response to the tragedy was remarkable and helped heal a hurting nation.
too sadness, it was devastated by the first fatal in-flight space accident in history of USA.Their sacrifice contributed to the development of space
It is sad by knowing when people were creating space shuttle, once people are sending people onto space, it failed by the enormous explosion and it was making several people died, but if people want to success, they have to try and practice many times.
My mom watched the Challenger take off and explode as a kid in school.
I remember watching the television in school when the Challenger took off and then exploded. This was devastating for many and for many days thereafter. The television can be a great educational tool for events such as this one as long as everything goes off as planned. But really who thinks that something like this is going to happen. A very sad day in history.
I remember watching videos of this in high school, such a tragedy. It had to have been truly devastating for all members at NASA and the families of those lost.
That was a very hard video to watch. I had never watched it before. It is a shame that this lift off was not postponed. Patience got the best of officials that day and it could have saved lives.
I remember how hard it was to watch these videos in high school. How sad!