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FLORIDA– Challenger launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 28, 1986. Shortly after liftoff, the space shuttle’s external fuel tank collapsed, causing what looked like an explosion, and the shuttle broke apart and fell approximately 46,000 feet to the Atlantic Ocean, killing the seven crew members aboard.
Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee and New Hampshire teacher, Christa McAuliffe. She was the first civilian teacher ever chosen for a space mission.
We’re remembering the crew, 34 years later.
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The Space shuttle Challenger lifts off on apparently flawless launch 28 January 1986 over Space Kennedy Center. Challenger, carrying seven crew members including teacher Christa McAuliffe, exploded 75 seconds after its launch and killed all crew members. (B/W ONLY) AFP PHOTO/Bob PEARSON (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP via Getty Images) 
(UNDATED FILE PHOTO) Teacher and space shuttle astronaut, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, is shown in an undated official portrait released by NASA. McAuliffe and the entire Space Shuttle Challenger crew were lost seventy three seconds after launch when a booster rocket failed. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images) 
This photo, released by NASA, of the 28 January explosion which destroyed the Space shuttle Challenger and killed all seven crew members 75 seconds after its launch, appears to show a second explosion. 
The remains of the crew of the space shuttle 'Challenger' are moved from the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, on board a Military Airlift Command C-141, 29th April 1986. NASA officials, a military guard of honour and escorts from the Astronaut Office are present for the departure. The seven crew members of the 'Challenger' died on 28th January 1986, when the shuttle broke up shortly after take-off. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images) 
US space shuttle Challenger lifts off 28 January 1986 from a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, 72 seconds before its explosion 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 NASA (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP via 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 via Getty Images) 
The space shuttle 'Challenger' malfunctions shortly after take-off, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members, 28th January 1986. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images) 
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. FL - JANUARY 28: (FILE PHOTO) The Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off January 28, 1986 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The Challenger and its seven member crew were lost seventy three seconds after launch when a booster rocket failed. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images) 
UNSPECIFIED LOCATION - NOVEMBER 11: (FILE PHOTO) Space Shuttle Challenger crew members gather for an official portrait November 11, 1985 in an unspecified location. (Back, L-R) Mission Specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher-in-Space participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis and mission specialist Judy Resnick. (Front, L-R) Pilot Mike Smith, commander Dick Scobee and mission specialist Ron McNair. The Challenger and its seven member crew were lost seventy three seconds after launch when a booster rocket failed. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images) 
Pieces of the Space Shuttle Challenger are arranged in a hangar after being salvaged from the Atlantic Ocean where they were scattered, on January 28, 1986 when the spacecraft exploded. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986 seconds after blast-off, killing seven astronauts, putting all space flights on hold for 32 months. (Photo credit should read STF/AFP via Getty Images)
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