28th January 1986 – the day the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated with the loss of seven crew members as it was launched from Kennedy Space Centre.
The shuttle broke up only 73 seconds into its flight as the world watched on live TV and the families of the crew watched in horror from Cape Canaveral. The module containing the crew members broke away from the fireball but plummeted from 50,000 feet into the sea with no chance of survival for anyone on board.
Cause of the accident was found to be a design fault in an O-ring seal used in the solid-fuel booster rockets, which caused the seal to fail and gas to leak and ignite. Engineers had in fact recommended that the launch should be delayed but pressure from Nasa managers led to its continuance with tragic consequences.
R.I.P the crew of Challenger flight STS-51L - Mission specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judy Resnik & Ron McNair, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis, Pilot Mike Smith, Commander Dick Scobee, and ‘Teacher in Space’ participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe.