STS-51-L

Dick Scobee

• Birthday: 05/19/1939
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 04/06/1984
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Francis Richard Scobee was an American pilot and astronaut. He was killed commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger, which suff...

Michael J. Smith

• Birthday: 04/30/1945
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 01/28/1986
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Michael John Smith was an American astronaut—pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-...

Christa McAuliffe

• Birthday: 09/02/1948
• Role: Payload Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 01/28/1986
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Sharon Christa McAuliffe (born Sharon Christa Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and a...

Gregory Jarvis

• Birthday: 08/24/1944
• Role: Payload Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 01/28/1986
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 – January 28, 1986) was an American engineer who died during the destruction of the S...

Ellison Onizuka

• Birthday: 06/24/1946
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 01/24/1985
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Ellison Shoji Onizuka (鬼塚 承次 Onizuka Shōji) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew...

Judith Resnik

• Birthday: 04/05/1949
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 08/30/1984
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Judith Arlene Resnik was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut, w...

Ronald McNair

• Birthday: 10/21/1950
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 02/03/1984
• Last Flight: 01/28/1986

Ronald Erwin McNair was an American physicist and NASA astronaut. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger o...

Mission

STS-51-L

• Type: Human Exploration
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $450,000,000

The tenth mission for Challenger, STS-51-L was scheduled to deploy the second in a series of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, carry out the first flight of the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203) / Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable in order to observe Halley's Comet, and carry out several lessons from space as part of the Teacher in Space Project and Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP).

During the ascent phase, 73 seconds after liftoff, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic structural failure resulting in the loss of crew and vehicle. The Rogers Commission later determined the cause of the accident to have been the failure of the primary and secondary (backup) O-ring seals on Challenger's right Solid Rocket Booster.

Location

Launch Complex 39B

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida

Launch Complex 39B has witnessed the launch of 58 rockets, including 57 orbital launch attempts. While Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 266 rocket launches.

The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).

Rocket

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.

Learn more about the Space Shuttle