NASA, Moon and Space
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NASA's space shuttle Challenger completed 10 missions before it broke apart during a launch in 1986, killing seven astronauts.
NASA's space shuttle Challenger exploded and broke apart Jan. 28, 1986, in the sky over East-Central Florida, killing the seven astronauts on board.
Twenty-five names are carved into the black mirror-finished granite: the Challenger seven, the seven who perished in the Columbia disaster on Feb. 1, 2003, the three killed in the Apollo 1 fire on Jan. 27, 1967, and all those lost in plane and other on-the-job accidents.
On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff, killing the seven crew members on board The space shuttle disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Cape Canaveral in Florida.
On Feb. 1, 2003, NASA was once again dealing with tragedy when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew of seven astronauts were lost after the shuttle broke apart during reentry.