27th anniversary of the Challenger explosion
APP2002021557746
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
A solid fuel rocket booster disappears behind the contrail of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger 28 January 1986 over Kennedy Space Center as debris from the orbiter begins to fall to earth. The US space shuttle exploded seconds after lift-off, killing it crew of seven. Challenger was 72 seconds into its flight, travelling at nearly 2,000 mph at a height of ten miles, when it was suddenly envelope in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded. AFP PHOTO BOB PEARSON (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP/Getty Images)
