Updated: Feb. 11, 2001

Atlantis Lifts of for International Space Station

Wed, Feb 7 10:38 PM 

The Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39A at 2:02 p.m. EDT on July 1, 1997 to begin the 16-day STS-94 Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 mission.

The orbiter Columbia, mated to its external tank and two solid rocket boosters, rolls out to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B in October 1997.

Main engine exhaust, solid rocket booster plume and an expanding ball of gas from the external tank are visible seconds after the Space Shuttle Challenger accident on Jan. 28, 1986.

The explosion 73 seconds after liftoff claimed the lives of Challenger's crew of seven astronauts. The cause was determined to be an O-ring failure in the right Solid Rocket Booster; cold weather prior to launch was a contributing factor.

NASA's investigation concluded that the G-forces experienced during orbiter ejection and break-up were survivable, but impact with the ocean surface was not.

Space Shuttle Challenger Accident Details Look !

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