Jan 282026
It was 40 years ago today that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded some 70 seconds after liftoff, a result of a faulty O-ring design in its solid rocket boosters, combined with an aggressively accelerated launch schedule overriding concerns about freezing temperatures.
It was also one of three tragedies during what is sometimes described as NASA’s “week of tragedy”. The Apollo 1 fire, which killed three astronauts 59 years ago, happened on January 27, and then there is of course the Columbia disaster, which took place on February 1, 2003.
