The Challenger space shuttle tragedy

On 28 January 1986, a space shuttle launch went wrong.
Six astronauts and a teacher were killed.

In 1984, US President Ronald Reagan had announced that Nasa would search for a member of the public to accompany experienced astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger.

Barbara Morgan was chosen as her backup and had trained alongside the Challenger team.
She watched as the shuttle was destroyed a little more than a minute after take-off.

In 2012, Barbara Morgan spoke to Chloe Hadjimatheou.

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(Photo: Launch of Space Shuttle Challenger from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Credit: Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images)