Video: 'Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion LIVE TV'
(Tuesday, January 28, 1986, 11:39:13 a.m. EST/16:39:13 UTC) — Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch today, killing the crew of seven astronauts, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
Video: 'Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion (GRAPHIC)'
The cause of the disaster was the failure of the primary and secondary O-ring seals in a joint in the right Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB). The record-low temperatures on the morning of the launch had stiffened the rubber O-rings, reducing their ability to seal the joints.
Video: 'Challenger disaster live coverage on ABC news' (click here to watch CNN coverage from 11 a.m. to noon EST; click here to watch CBS continuing post-explosion coverage)
Shortly after liftoff, the seals were breached, and hot pressurized gas from within the SRB leaked through the joint and burned through the aft attachment strut connecting it to the external propellant tank (ET), then into the tank itself.
Video: 'Challenger Disaster Details That Will Chill You To The Bone'
The collapse of the ET’s internal structures and the rotation of the SRB that followed propelled the shuttle stack, traveling at a speed of Mach 1.92, into a direction that allowed aerodynamic forces to tear the orbiter apart. Both SRBs detached from the now-destroyed ET and continued to fly uncontrollably until the range safety officer destroyed them.
Video: 'Challenger Shuttle Disaster: What Went Wrong? | RARE Footage'
The crew compartment, containing human remains, and many other fragments from the shuttle were recovered from the ocean floor after a three-month search and recovery operation.
The exact timing of the deaths of the crew is unknown, but several crew members are thought to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft.
Video: 'Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: Major Malfunction | Retro Report | The New York Times'
The orbiter had no escape system, and the impact of the crew compartment at terminal velocity with the ocean surface was too violent to be survivable.
The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the Space Shuttle program.
