STS-51-L Crew Portrait

The official STS-51-L crew portrait, taken ahead of the mission that ended in the loss of Space Shuttle Challenger. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986, a failed O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters caused the Shuttle to break apart, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first teacher in space. The disaster grounded the Shuttle program for nearly three years while NASA redesigned the boosters and overhauled its safety culture.