space shuttle challenger disaster of 1986

NASA suffered its first and only fatal space mission accident when the crew of Apollo I died from a capsule fire in an on-ground test in 1967. President Reagan has put off his state of the union address. The years before the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster were a renaissance for the American space program. Speaking before the launch, she said: 'One of the things I hope to bring back into the classroom is to make that connection with the students that they too are part of history, the space programme belongs to them and to try to bring them up with the space age.' Christa McAuliffe, 37, married with two children, was to be the first school teacher in space - picked from among 10,000 entries for a competition. The shuttle crew was led by Commander Dick Scobee, 46. High winds, then icicles caused the launch to be postponed from 22 January.īut Nasa officials insist safety remains their top priority and there was no pressure to launch the shuttle today. The Challenger's flight, the 25th by a shuttle, had already been delayed because of bad weather. President Ronald Reagan has described the tragedy as 'a national loss'. In 25 years of space exploration seven people have died - today that total has been doubled.

The danger from falling debris prevented rescue boats reaching the scene for more than an hour. The astronauts' families, at the airbase, and millions of Americans witnessed the world's worst space disaster live on TV. The five men and two women - including the first teacher in space - were just over a minute into their flight from Cape Canaveral in Florida when the Challenger blew up. The American space shuttle, Challenger, has exploded killing all seven astronauts on board. 1986: Seven dead in space shuttle disaster

Space shuttle challenger disaster of 1986