It's been 39 years since the Challenger space shuttle, carrying seven people, took off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, exploding in mere minutes.The disaster — which claimed the lives of ...

The space shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1986. (AP Photo/Bruce Weaver, File) Image 2 of 4 ...

On Jan. 28, 1986, a family from Detroit watches the Challenger from Cocoa Beach, Fla., cheering and clapping, photographing themselves with the shuttle in the background, not knowing that the ...

NASA’s “Teacher in Space” added joy to many Americans’ lives and increased excitement for the future of spaceflight, though ...

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. It occurred Feb. 1, 2003. For millions of Americans, it was an event that ...

Divers searching for a World War II-era aircraft along Florida’s east coast accidentally stumbled upon another tragic American artifact — a piece of the space shuttle Challenger that exploded ...

At 8.15 a.m. on Jan. 28, 1986, New Hampshire social-studies teacher Christa McAuliffe sat with her six fellow astronauts ahead of the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger from Kennedy Space Cente… ...

A piece of the wrecked 1986 Challenger space shuttle was found off Florida's coast. November 11, 2022 5:00 AM ET. Jaclyn Diaz Enlarge this image.

Explorers trudged the Atlantic Ocean searching for World War II artifacts, but they stumbled on something else — a 20-foot-long piece of debris from the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was ...

At 11:38 a.m. on Jan. 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle lifted off with seven people on board. Less than two minutes later, the shuttle exploded, killing the entire crew.

The space shuttle Challenger, visible in the mist as it is being moved to the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in January 1986. Photo: Space Frontiers/Getty Images.

Piece of Challenger space shuttle found in ocean 00:28. NASA has confirmed that a piece of the space shuttle Challenger has been found in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, nearly 37 ...