Jan 28 1986
From The Space Library
Only 74 seconds after liftoff, the Space Shuttle Challenger, flight STS51-L, exploded at about 10 miles above the Earth, killing all seven crew members. It was the worst accident in the history of space exploration and the first time American fatalities occurred during space flight. Slow motion film of the launch revealed a thin flame between the left booster rocket and the Shuttle's main fuel tank, causing engineers to speculate that hydrogen from a ruptured tank ignited upon contact with air heated by the rocket motors or directly by the motors themselves. It was hoped that investigation of the debris that fell into the Atlantic Ocean could lend a better understanding of the accident. All crew tended spaceflight was halted until a thorough investigation was completed, stunting the ambitious space program that promised to bring the richest lode of scientific data ever imagined. (W Post, Jan 29/86; W Times, Jan 29/86; NY Times, Jan 29/86; B Sun, Jan 29/86; P Inq, Jan 29/86; C Trib, Jan 29/86)
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