Space Shuttle Challenger was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that tra
Challenger in orbit in 1983, during STS-7
Challenger being prepared in 1985 for its penultimate flight, STS-61-A
Challenger atop a Crawler-transporter, en route to the launch site for its final flight, STS-51-L
Challenger being transported by Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 905, shortly before being delivered in 1982
Sharon Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payload specialist.
Space Shuttle Challenger
…astronaut. On its tenth flight in January 1986, Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing the seven-member crew of STS-51-L that included Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first teacher in space. The Rogers Commission concluded that an O-ring seal in one of Challenger's solid rocket boosters failed…
McAuliffe was a teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire.
McAuliffe undergoing pre-flight training experiences weightlessness during a KC-135 "vomit comet" flight
McAuliffe (left) and her backup Barbara Morgan (right) try out space food in the canteen of the Johnson Space Center, Sep 10, 1985