Forty years ago today, disaster struck NASA’s human spaceflight program when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after blastoff, killing all seven people onboard. The tragedy nearly brought the shuttle program to an early end.

NASA's space shuttle Challenger exploded and broke apart Jan. 28, 1986, in the sky over East-Central Florida, killing the seven astronauts on board.

Families of the astronauts lost in the space shuttle Challenger accident gathered back at the launch site Thursday to mark that tragic day 40 years ago.

The Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts around the moon, is currently on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. Like Challenger four decades ago, the rocket is facing freezing temperatures,

How a cold morning, failed O-rings, and flawed decision-making led to tragedy Forty years ago, Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its flight, killing its crew of seven and exposing the management culture and decision-making process that led NASA to launch on a freezing January day.

Cold temperatures inhibited the space shuttle Challenger’s infrastructure from working properly. NASA has set potential weather conditions that would stop Artemis II from launching as scheduled.

Wednesday marks 40 years since the NASA space shuttle Challenger broke apart after lifting off, killing all seven people on board.

The 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster comes as NASA prepares for its next major step in human spaceflight. The Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts around the moon,

Forty years after the Challenger disaster, the tragedy is remembered not only for the seven lives lost, but for the engineer who tried to stop the launch and was ignored.

Steve Hawley, who flew five Space Shuttle missions, and Krista Schaffer, a first-grade teacher at Christa McAuliffe Elementary in Lenexa reflect on the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.