US | NASA The Challenger Disaster: The Day in Pictures Looking back on the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle's explosion By Michael Harthorne Posted Jan 28, 2016 1:16 PM CST Copied The space shuttle Challenger is destroyed by an explosion shortly after it lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 28, 1986. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) Thirty years ago, the space shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing all seven people onboard—including high-school teacher Christa McAuliffe. The 25th flight for NASA's space shuttle program was to have studied Halley's Comet and deployed two satellites, Discovery News reports; McAuliffe was to have taught science lessons from space. Here are scenes from that day. Read These Next Louisiana mayor convicted of raping her son's 16-year-old friend. A $220M ad campaign may have been Kristi Noem's downfall. Lily Allen's 'revenge dress' literally has the receipts. Russia is reportedly helping to guide Iran strikes on US targets. Report an error