Space Shuttle Columbia’s Debris Destroys Texas

As Space Shuttle Columbia began disintegrating over Texas, residents in the region heard an audible series of explosions and streaks of smoke before it eventually disintegrated into a trail of debris spanning western United States. At 82 seconds after launch, Columbia experienced its first sign of trouble when foam broke loose from an external tank’s…

Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes

Christa McAuliffe was America’s first schoolteacher to travel into space. On Jan. 28, 1986, as the space shuttle Challenger lifted off for orbit 73 seconds later, its crew cheered loudly when it suddenly disintegrated and exploded in fiery destruction. This tragedy fundamentally altered NASA’s space operations; it ended plans to send civilians as passengers into…

The Space Shuttle That Blown Up

Millions of people witnessed as the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from a frigid Florida morning on January 28, 1986, carrying Christa McAuliffe – a teacher from New Hampshire chosen as America’s inaugural civilian astronaut. Although companies are creating technology to help clean up space debris, fragmentation remains an issue. Researchers study this phenomenon by…