Thirty years ago the space shuttle Challenger broke apart in the clear, cold sky high above Cape Canaveral shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986.
The U.S. space shuttle exploded after lift-off, killing its crew of seven. Challenger was 73 seconds into its flight when it was suddenly enveloped in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded.
This 1986 photo shows the crew of the space shuttle Challenger. From left are Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and Judith Resnik.
Credit: NASA/AP
Challenger crew
The crew members of space shuttle Challenger flight 51-L, leave their quarters for the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 27, 1986.
From foreground are commander Francis Scobee, Mission Spl. Judith Resnik, Mission Spl. Ronald McNair, Payload Spl. Gregory Jarvis, Mission Spl. Ellison Onizuka, teacher Christa McAuliffe and pilot Michael Smith.
Credit: Steve Helber/AP
Challenger
The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986, shortly before it exploded with a crew of seven aboard.
Credit: AP Photo/Thom Baur
Challenger
Spectators at Kennedy Space Center watch as the space shuttle Challenger lifts from Pad 39-B on January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Credit: AP
Challenger lifts off
The space shuttle Challenger lifts off Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986.
Credit: NASA/AP
Challenger booster rockets
The booster rockets from the Space Shuttle Challenger fly off after the shuttle exploded after lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986.
Credit: NASA/Getty Images
Challenger
An unusual flame is seen jutting from the side of a solid rocket booster on the space shuttle Challenger during its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Jauary 28, 1986. A subsequent explosion killed its crew of seven.
Credit: NASA/AP
Challenger lift off
The solid fuel rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger starts to explode over Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images
Challenger
The solid fuel rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger starts to explode over Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images
Challenger explosion
A solid fuel rocket booster disappears behind the contrail of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, over Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as debris from the orbiter begins to fall to earth.
Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images
Challenger explosion
This image made from a television screen shows the space shuttle Challenger after exploding during its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986.
Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew
Challenger
A solid fuel rocket booster disappears behind the contrail of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, over Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as debris from the orbiter begins to fall to earth.
Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images
Spectators at Challenger launch
Spectators at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, react after they witnessed the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
Credit: AP Photo/File
President Ronald Reagan
President Ronald Reagan is shown in the Oval Office of the White House after a televised address to the nation about the space shuttle Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986.
Credit: Dennis Cook/AP
Searching for Challenger debris
A cross and wreath with a picture of the space shuttle Challenger stand on the shore as a Coast Guard cutter heads out to sea searching for debris from the shuttle in Cape Canaveral, Florida on February 1, 1986.
Credit: Jim Neihouse/AP
Challenger memorial service
Customer David Kimball of Manchester, N.H., reacts as store employees Lynne Beck of Salisbury, N.H., and Lisa Olson, far right, of Manchester, N.H., embrace as they watch the Houston memorial service for the astronauts who died in the Challenger explosion on a television in a store in Concord, New Hampshire, on February 1, 1986. Pictured on the television screen are family members of one of the astronauts.
Credit: Charles Krupa/AP
Drawing of Challenger
A drawing made by a first grade student is shown on January 31, 1986. The student's class at the Our Lady of Lourdes School in Melbourne, Florida, was asked to draw what they thought happened to the space shuttle Challenger and the people aboard.
Credit: Thom Baur/AP
Challenger debris
Pieces of the Space Shuttle Challenger are arranged in a hangar on February 27, 1986, after being salvaged from the Atlantic Ocean where they were scattered on January 28, 1986, when the spacecraft exploded.
Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images
Challenger rocket booster
This April 1986 photo taken at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows an approximately 1800-to-2000 pound, 6-by-10 foot piece of the Space Shuttle Challenger's right-hand solid rocket booster.
It was recovered by the Stena Workhorse northeast of Cape Canaveral in 600 feet of water.
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Challenger wreckage
This April 1986 photo taken at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows the wreckage from the Space Shuttle Challenger displayed in the Logistic Facility. The wreckage was set up to assist the process of studying the Challenger accident.
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Challenger wreckage
This April 1986 photo taken at Kennedy Space Center in in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows the wreckage from the Space Shuttle Challenger displayed in the Logistic Facility. The wreckage was set up to assist the process of studying the Challenger accident.
