As you can probably imagine, the process stirred up plenty of memories, leaving him in that happy-sad state of reminiscence. In such a complex emotional condition, he was not at all prepared for the discovery waiting for him in the attic. As he flipped through a box of old photos, he found a series of pictures he’d never seen before. They were of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion, but they were also clearly taken from very close range. In the slides that follow, you will find every one of the photos he discovered. 

The man’s grandpa had once been a NASA contractor, so he’d seen more than just the fateful Challenger launch. Over his years with NASA, he developed a lot of skills, one of which was snapping pictures with perfect precision. 

As you can see, all appeared to be well at take-off. The Challenger had gone through this process plenty of times before, as had all the NASA employees involved. For the time being, everything was going according to plan.

However, space shuttles comprise many small parts that are each vital to the function of the whole. Unfortunately, a chain reaction of tiny changes was already underway when the picture above was taken, and it was destined to end in disaster. 

If you’ve ever had your lock jam or another part of your car refuse to function on a particularly icy morning, you’ll have an inkling of what went on with the Challenger on its final launch date – January 28, 1986. 

Sadly, this is not how the Challenger’s year went down. Instead, the Galileo space probe was delivered into orbit around the earth in 1989 by the Atlantis space shuttle. Meanwhile, the Hubble Space Telescope went out the following year (though it was intended to be in orbit seven years earlier). 

Frosty weather alone can’t cause a space shuttle to crash. However, it can affect certain parts that are central to the functioning of the vessel. As these parts affect others, a chain reaction can occur, and in the Challenger’s case, that chain reaction was deadly. 

Seven people died in the challenger explosion – all six of the astronauts on board plus one teacher from New Hampshire. Christa McAuliffe was the first teacher selected for NASA’s “Teacher in Space Project“ – an initiative that did not get off to a great start.  

In 1998, after more than a decade, NASA resurrected the initiative in the form of the “Educator Astronaut Project.” The first participants were selected in 2004 and finally flew in 2009. Thankfully, their mission was a success. 

When the joint ruptured,  it led to the collapse of the external propellant tank. In turn, this collapse threw the entire shuttle off balance while it was traveling at a velocity that exceeded the speed of sound. Under such pressure, the shuttle was torn apart. 

As mentioned earlier, that part of Florida was experiencing record-low temperatures on the morning of the Challenger launch. The cold weather stiffened up the O-rings that seal the SRB joints. In turn, this reduced their ability to properly seal the joints.  

Unfortunately for those on board the Challenger, the o-ring dramas had not yet been adequately addressed. So, due to one of the smallest parts on the vessel, their mission came to a catastrophic conclusion. In the image above, you see the shuttle at a moment when the crew inside would still have been none the wiser.  

Of course, the Challenger had also proven itself on nine successful missions, so they had every reason to believe that its 10th launch would deliver the same positive results. If only the weather had been warmer that day. 

Struck by these unusually cold temperatures, the o-rings stiffened up, weakening the joints in the SRBs. Finally, in the lower joint of the right solid rocket booster, one joint gave way entirely. And one joint was all it took to take the entire shuttle down. 

At this point, the astronauts inside were likely trying to fight off panic while trying to figure out something – anything – they could do to save themselves. Unfortunately, they had no viable options on board. The Challenger was missing another key component – one that hadn’t seemed too important to anyone until that day. 

Of course, there were relevant reasons for leaving the escape mechanism out. It would have been costly, complex, and cumbersome – all things engineers seek to avoid when it comes to space travel. Also, NASA had conducted many successful test launches, so the decision seemed justified. 

Can you imagine the emotional journey the NASA employees went on that day? From elation at the launch, they were plunged in a matter of seconds into a fiery horror show that would never be erased from their minds. 

With the gift of hindsight, we know that wasn’t the case. However, you can understand the hopeful thoughts of the NASA employees at the Kennedy Space Center that day. The last thing they wanted to witness was a catastrophe of this magnitude. 

It’s likely that (as many NASA technicians speculated) something had temporarily blocked the ruptured joint, but the gust of wind was enough to knock it loose. Around 20 seconds later, a flame shot from the ruptured rocket joint, burning a hole through the external fuel tank. 

Thousands of gallons of liquid hydrogen poured from this new breach, and you don’t have to be a scientist to understand that this was a recipe for disaster. At this point, there was no chance of recovery for the doomed Challenger flight. 

We can only imagine what these moments would have felt like for the astronauts trapped inside. The best thing we can hope for is that it was over quickly and that none of them suffered. 

You can feel his steady hand through the well-framed shots. However, he surely would have been operating in a state of shock and horror as the shuttle blew apart in front of him. 

As for the Challenger, by the time this photo was taken, it had been pushed off course but was still traveling at a shockingly high Mach 2 speed. In other words, it was traveling at twice the speed of sound. 

On top of all this, NASA couldn’t even launch the recovery mission right away. Pieces were still falling from the sky, so they had to hold the recovery teams back to ensure their safety. After all, they didn’t need a second tragedy that day. 

The recovery mission ended up being a complex operation that required support from the US Navy and its submarines. The ground recovery was complete by February 7th – ten days after the crash. On February 8th, the search for debris in the ocean commenced. 

The Challenger explosion was an undeniably tragic moment in the history of space exploration. However, it’s heartening to know that it did, at least, inspire the creation of safer space shuttles. Indeed, this tragedy has inspired incredibly helpful advances in the fields of engineering safety, ethics, communications, and decision-making.