Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Upworthy to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Space exploration has always carried great risks, but few tragedies have been as devastating as the Challenger disaster. On January 28, 1986, the STS-51L mission took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying seven crew members who had trained for months for their journey into space.

Just 73 seconds after liftoff, the Challenger shuttle disintegrated, taking the lives of everyone on board. The last recorded words from the crew—spoken in the seconds before the explosion—have since become a chilling part of spaceflight history.


media.giphy.com

A mission filled with hope, cut tragically short

The Challenger crew was made up of Commander Francis R. Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, and Ronald E. McNair, and Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.

Also on board was Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire schoolteacher chosen from over 10,000 applicants to be part of NASA's Teacher in Space program. She had trained to teach lessons from space, inspiring students worldwide.

Despite concerns about the unusually cold temperatures at the launch site, NASA proceeded with the mission. No one knew at the time that hidden structural flaws would turn the mission into one of the darkest days in spaceflight history.

Space Shuttle Challenger is carried by a Crawler-transporter on the way to its launch pad, prior to its final flight before being destroyed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.Photo by NASA | Wikimedia Commons

‘Here we go’—The crew’s final moments

NASA later released transcripts from the Challenger’s communication system, revealing the crew’s last words before disaster struck.

The recorder captured their pre-launch conversation, which included both lighthearted banter and technical discussions. As the engines ignited, Pilot Michael J. Smith enthusiastically shouted:

"Here we go. Go! You Mother."

As the shuttle gained altitude, Smith noted the strong winds, saying:

"Looks like we’ve got a lotta wind here today."

Commander Francis R. Scobee replied:

"Yeah. It’s a little hard to see out my window here."

Grey smoke near the aft attach strut on the right SRB.Photo by NASA | Wikimedia Commons

The final transmission: ‘Uh oh’

As the Challenger soared past 35,000 feet, the crew continued checking airspeed and altitude. Then, Scobee radioed mission control with a routine call:

"Roger, go at throttle up."

Seconds later, disaster struck.

Smith, likely realizing something was terribly wrong, uttered the last recorded words from the Challenger crew:

"Uh oh."

Moments later, NASA lost all contact, and millions watching the live broadcast saw the shuttle explode in the sky.

At 58.778 seconds into powered flight, a large flame plume is visible just above the SRB exhaust nozzle indicating a breach in the motor casing.Photo by NASA | Wikimedia Commons

What went wrong? The preventable cause of disaster

The Challenger explosion was later determined to be caused by the failure of the O-ring seals in the solid rocket boosters.

Despite warnings from engineers that the freezing temperatures could cause O-ring failure, NASA managers proceeded with the launch. This decision ultimately cost seven lives.

Photo by NASA | Wikimedia Commons

Remembering the Challenger crew

The loss of Challenger remains one of NASA’s most painful moments, but the legacy of the crew members lives on.

McAuliffe’s mission to inspire students continues through educational programs in her honor, and NASA has taken significant steps to improve spaceflight safety in the years since.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

More For You

sad, sadness, emotional
a man holds his head while sitting on a sofa

Millennials discuss the impact of their parents lack of emotional support

Every generation has different parenting styles that have impacted their children's mental health and emotional intelligence. And when Reddit user u/Soup_stew_supremacy posed the question to r/Millennials: "Do any of you struggle to get emotional support from your parents?"–the response was robust.

"I'm not sure if it's because they weren't supported in some way, or just a generational thing, but myself, my husband and some of our friends and family members often lack emotional support from their parents," she shared. "My parents are in no way bad people, but they get really uncomfortable with feelings of any kind, and they pretty much just want to talk with you about surface-level stuff. If you tell them something that's been hard for you, they will say 'Oh, that sucks. So anyway...' I couldn't imagine trying to look to them for emotional or mental support, it would just be embarrassing and uncomfortable for us both."

Keep ReadingShow less
A basement under construction.

Representative image - These days the choice between a place of your own and a basement custom built for you by mom is pretty easy.

Photo by Cal David

Mom's basement makeover gives her daughters a rent-free start in life

How children leave the home varies across generations, cultures and even individual families. For some, turning 18 marks a race toward independence, while others linger in the nest until they're pushed out with a “good luck” and a swift kick in the rump. In today’s world of skyrocketing housing costs, however, many families are rethinking these norms, choosing support over separation.

One TikTok mom, @lxxndaa_, is breaking the mold by giving her daughters a head start—rent-free. In a viral video, she shared how she transformed her basement into a fully equipped apartment for her daughters. This move has earned her widespread admiration and over 16.6 million views.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mom, mom and son, working mom
woman in gray sweater carrying baby in blue and white shirt
Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash

Toddler's sweet messages for working mom on doorbell cam melts hearts

Doorbell cameras have captured so many iconic moments. From a UPS driver grateful for snacks left out at a home she was delivering at, to a new mom receiving heartfelt parenting advice from her mom during a visit, to an Amazon driver doing a solid for a woman looking to conceal her purchases from her husband--they do so much more than serve as a security tool.

And for first-time and working mom Hannah Bell, her doorbell camera has helped her create beautiful memories with her toddler, Landon, each morning she is away from home at the office. Bell shared with Newsweek, "I started consistently leaving for work before my son woke up in the morning, so we didn't get to see each other most mornings."

Keep ReadingShow less
Widow refused to share inheritance as teen stepdaughter faces homelessness—backlash erupts
Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Mikhail Nilov; Reddit | u/Spiritual_Alps3413

Widow refused to share inheritance as teen stepdaughter faces homelessness—backlash erupts

Inheritance disputes often lead to heated debates, especially when a family is divided. One woman recently sparked outrage after revealing that she inherited her late husband’s entire estate—nearly a million dollars—without leaving anything for his 16-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Posting on Reddit as u/Spiritual_Alps3413, the widow asked if she was wrong for keeping everything while her stepdaughter and her mother struggled to survive.

Keep ReadingShow less