NASA‘s space shuttle program launched the mission on April 12, 1981. On January 28th, the Space Shuttle Challenger was launched and exploded 72 seconds into the flight. Seventeen years, four days later, Space Shuttle Columbia was lost on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere. Today marks thirty-four years since Challenger exploded and the loss of the crew of seven, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.
Remembering the crew of Challenger STS-51L.
On this day in 1986, the launch of STS-51L ended in tragedy when Challenger and crew were lost 73 seconds after liftoff. Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair. pic.twitter.com/DdlYQhPYcq
— National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) January 28, 2020
In 2003 on a Saturday morning, a catastrophic re-entry Space Shuttle Columbia was lost. Much of the debris field is over northeast Texas. Today there is a museum in Hemphill, Texas, for the Space Shuttle Columbia.
https://texasforesttrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/patricia-huffman-smith-columbia-space-shuttle
