35 YEARS LATER: On this day in 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board. The Challenger broke apart at 11:39 a.m., falling into the Atlantic Ocean. Investigators would later discover the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O ring” seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. As a result of the horrific accident, NASA did not send astronauts into space for more than two years as it redesigned a number of space shuttle features for improv

💔 On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia fell apart as it returned to Earth after spending more than two weeks in space. Discover more space history 👉 https://trib.al/i8BGcLT The accident instantly killed all seven astronauts on board. This was the second fatal accident of the space shuttle program following the Challenger disaster in 1986, and NASA suspended space shuttle flights for more than two years as it investigated the disaster. Investigators found that a piece of foam had bro