The NASA space shuttle Challenger exploded 40 years ago, on January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after liftoff. The disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire who would have been the first civilian in space. “The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives,” President Regan said in an address to the nation that night. “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them,

35 YEARS LATER: On this day in 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board. The Challenger broke apart at 11:39 a.m., falling into the Atlantic Ocean. Investigators would later discover the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O ring” seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. As a result of the horrific accident, NASA did not send astronauts into space for more than two years as it redesigned a number of space shuttle features for improv

Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch. Today we remember seven crew members whose lives were taken during the disaster. | WESH 2 News

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. | AARP Arizona

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Today marks 33 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members on board. “It happened just over one minute into flight,” NBC’s Dan Molina reported that day on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. “From mission control: silence.” | NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas