Challenger Explodes: Seven Astronauts Die in Space
The Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire teacher selected from over 11,000 applicants for the Teacher in Space program. Millions of schoolchildren were watching live. The cause was an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster that failed to seat properly in the unusually cold temperatures that morning. Engineers at Morton Thiokol had warned NASA the night before that the O-rings had never been tested below 53 degrees Fahrenheit; the launch temperature was 36. NASA managers overruled their recommendation to delay. The Rogers Commission, led by physicist Richard Feynman, demonstrated the failure by dunking an O-ring in ice water on live television. The disaster grounded the shuttle fleet for 32 months and revealed a culture where schedule pressure systematically overrode safety concerns.
January 28, 1986
40 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 28
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He walked barefoot through snow, wearing a hair shirt, begging forgiveness. The most powerful monarch in Europe reduced to a supplicant, waiting three days outs…
Six dancers burned alive. The king barely escaped. What started as a lavish masquerade at the Hôtel Saint-Pol turned into a horrific spectacle when one performe…
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