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The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986 when Challenger, a Space Shuttle operated by NASA, consisting of the Challenger Orbiter, designated OV-099, an External Tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer, and two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), broke apart 73 seconds into its flight leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). Disintegration of the shuttle stack began 73 seconds into its flight after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed, allowing a flare (of pressurized hot gas from within the solid rocket motor) to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external fuel tank. Roughly 73 seconds into the launch, the SRB breach flare led to the separation of the right-hand SRB's aft attachment and the structural failure of the external tank, dumping the liquid hydrogen fuel load all at once and causing a massive explosion as this fuel was immediately ignited by various present flame sources. Aerodynamic forces promptly broke up the orbiter after this event caused loss of attitude control. The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation. The crew were probably killed by impact of their crew compartment with the ocean surface, although they might have suffered lethal injuries from the forces of the disintegration.
where were you when it happened ?
where were you when it happened ?
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