This Day in History: Challenger Disaster

This Day in History: Challenger Disaster

This Day in History: Challenger Disaster January 28, 1986 Seventy-three seconds after its 11:38 a.m.

Launch, NASA's space shuttle exploded, killing all seven crew members.

Among the crew was Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire.

McAuliffe had won a competition that earned her a place on the Challenger.

Millions witnessed the tragedy on live television.

In the aftermath, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger.

The investigation determined the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O-ring” seal due to cold weather.

It would be two years before NASA sent astronauts into space again.