Overview
- On January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart roughly 73 seconds after liftoff from Florida, killing all seven crew members including teacher Christa McAuliffe.
- The immediate cause was failure of solid‑rocket‑booster sealing rings that had been flagged for months, with unusually cold, icy conditions increasing the risk.
- The WDR program features interviews and archival testimony, including Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly, to show how schedule pressure and routine overrode safety concerns.
- The catastrophe shocked the United States, halted shuttle flights, and led to investigations that reshaped NASA oversight and safety culture.
- Searchers recovered debris across about 26,000 square kilometers of the Atlantic, found the crew compartment after six weeks, and in 2022 divers located an additional Challenger fragment confirmed by NASA.