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 Columbia a salute, a celebration rather than just concentrating on a few moments of tragedy, but instead the bigger picture of these brave people's lives." The graphic novel "Orbiter" by Warren Ellis and Colleen Doran was dedicated to the "lives, memories and legacies of the seven astronauts lost on space shuttle "Columbia" during mission STS-107." Laurel Clark's wake up call on STS – 107 was Runrig's "Running to the Light". Laurel took "The Stamping Ground" CD into space with her and when the Shuttle exploded the CD was found back on Earth, and presented to the band. "Somewhere", the final track