2026.01.28 | SPECIAL: 40th Anniversary of the STS 51-L Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 28 January 2026: The 40th anniversary of the STS 51-L disaster that destroyed the Space Shuttle Challenger and killed seven astronauts on 28 January 1986. STS-51-L would have been the 25th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program. Tragically, the Challenger and her crew were lost in an explosion 73 seconds after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B. After a lengthy investigation, the cause was determined to be an o-ring failure in the right solid rocket booster aggravated by extreme cold weather in Florida before the launch. The mission was planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight, in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six days and performing a routine satellite deployment. The Challenger crew: Francis R. Scobee, Commander Michael J. Smith, Pilot Judith A. Resnik, Mission Specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist S. Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space Gregory B. Jarvis, Payload Specialist