The in-flight deaths of the Challenger astronauts were the first in NASA history.

Challenger was named after the British Naval research vessel HMS Challenger, which sailed

the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870s.

(Jan. 9, 1986) The Challenger crew: Left to right are Teacher-in-Space payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe;

payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission

commander; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Mike J. Smith, pilot; and Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist.

(Source, Photos: NASA)

HHiissttoorryy ooff tthhee CChhaalllleennggeerrOn Jan. 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle broke up and disintegrated 73 seconds after launch, killing seven astronauts.

At 36 degrees Fahrenheit, the day of the Challenger launch was colder than any other up to that point. Numerous reasons were determined to have contributed to the failure of an O-ring seal that caused the accident, of which temperature was determined to be key.

Challenger completed nine missions before the Jan. 28, 1986 disaster.

Challenger was the second shuttle in NASA's fleet, after Columbia.

The Challenger was built as a test vehicle for the Space Shuttle program but was

converted to a space-rated orbiter in 1979.Challenger carried parts of the

Spacelab space research laboratory during three separate missions.

Challenger was launched for the first time on April 4, 1983.