When the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart in 1986, the crew cabin remained mostly intact as it fell for nearly three minutes. Investigators later found evidence suggesting that some of the astronauts survived the initial explosion - and may have stayed conscious until the cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean at over 200 miles per hour. | LazBu

35 YEARS LATER: On this day in 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board. The Challenger broke apart at 11:39 a.m., falling into the Atlantic Ocean. Investigators would later discover the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O ring” seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. As a result of the horrific accident, NASA did not send astronauts into space for more than two years as it redesigned a number of space shuttle features for improv