Wreckage from the space shuttle Challenger, STS-51L mission, retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean by a flotilla of United States Coast Guard (USCG) and United States Navy (USN) vessels was returned to the Trident Basin at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard the USCG Cutter Dallas. The Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger (OV-099) (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members, which included 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. Disintegration of the vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. Photographed January 30, 1986. |