Space Shuttle Challenger disaster Space Shuttle Challenger disaster On January 28, 1986, the NASA shuttle orbiter mission STS-51-L and the tenth flight of (OV-99) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members, which consisted of five NASA astronauts and two payload specialists. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39 EST (16:39 UTC). The disintegration of the vehicle began after a joint in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The failure was caused by the failure of O-ring seals used in the joint that were not designed to handle
Space Shuttle Independence Space Center outside Houston, Texas. The replica shuttle was stripped of the name "Explorer" as part of the dismantling process. Upon arriving in the Houston area by barge on June 1, 2012, the shuttle was taken to the Johnson Space Center dock on Clear Lake, and preparations were made to move the shuttle to Space Center Houston during the early morning hours. As with Florida, several light poles along NASA Parkway were taken down and trees trimmed back to allow passage. The shuttle was moved by another 144-wheel trailer down the closed highway to the visitor center. Johnson Space Center