On January 28

On this day in ...
... 1986 (25 years ago today), as thousands watched at Cape Canaveral, Florida, a U.S. space shuttle exploded soon after its launch. The worst accident in NASA history, the Challenger explosion claimed the lives of all 7 astronauts, among them Christa McAuliffe, 37, "a high-school social studies teacher from New Hampshire," who'd won "a nationwide competition to be the first private citizen to fly aboard a space shuttle." (credit for photo of McAuliffe, standing 2d from left, along with fellow astronauts: left to right in front row, Commander Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Dr. Ronald McNair; standing, Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Dr. Judith A. Resnik) No humans would again travel in U.S. space vehicles until September 1988.

(Prior January 28 posts are here, here, and here.)
 
Bloggers Team