Video: 31 years since Challenger tragedy

A NASA video on the investigation into the Challenger accident of January 28, 1986. The video was created by the STS 51-L Data and Design Analysis Task Force which contributed to the Presidential Commission that investigated the tragedy. (Membership required)

The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS 41-B provide an overview of their mission. Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center on February 3, 1984, and although the flight was marred by the failure of two commercial satellite deployments, astronaut Bruce McCandless made history by making the first untethered spacewalk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit jet pack.

Thirty years after the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated in the clear, cold sky high above Cape Canaveral, the commander’s widow no longer feels anger at NASA and the management missteps and schedule pressure that kept the orbiters flying despite a fatal flaw in their solid-fuel boosters.