A documentary crew look for a wartime aircraft off the coast of Florida stumbled on a much more recent artifact : a portion of the Space Shuttle Challenger . The spacecraft endure a ruinous malfunction just 73 endorsement after lift - off on January 28 , 1986 , pop all seven crew members on board . Some parts of the bird , include the cabin , were recovered in the following month , but much of the vehicle was lost .

The movement of the cataclysm was established in a subsequent inquiry . The unity of the O - ring seals in the solid rocket lifter section joints was compromised by freeze temperatures . Concerns were raised on the day by bird syllabus employees , but managers cleared the missionary post for launch . Together with the cataclysm of the Columbia Space Shuttle , which broke up on reentry in 2003 , Challenger led to acomplete alteration in approach at NASAon how to keep crew secure .

“ While it has been about 37 years since seven daring and brave IE lose their life aboard Challenger , this tragedy will forever be seared in the corporate memory of our area . For millions around the globe , myself admit , Jan. 28 , 1986 , still feels like yesterday , ” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson say in astatement .

“ This breakthrough reach us an opportunity to pause once again , to elate the bequest of the seven pioneers we lost , and to reflect on how this disaster changed us . AtNASA , the core value of condom is – and must perpetually rest – our top precedence , especially as our missions explore more of the cosmos than ever before . ”

The last Challenger mission was command by Francis R. “ Dick ” Scobee and piloted by Michael J. Smith . The other crew members on display panel were deputation specialists Ronald E. McNair , Ellison S. Onizuka , and Judith A. Resnik , and payload specialiser Gregory B. Jarvis . The crowd also included teacher S. Christa McAuliffe , who was selected among 11,000 applier to be the first instructor to fly to space as part of the NASA Teacher in Space Program .

“ Challenger and her crowd live on in the hearts and memories of both NASA and the nation , ” said Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro . “ Today , as we turn our sight again toward the Moon and Mars , we see that the same love of exploration that drive the Challenger crowd is still inspiring the astronaut of today’sArtemisGeneration , calling them to build on the bequest of knowledge and discovery for the welfare of all humanity . ”

The find was part of a History Channel documentary film calledThe Bermuda Triangle : Into Cursed Waters . The wreckage of the space bird was not retrieve in the Bermuda Triangle . If you ’re wondering why you do n’t hear more about the Triangulum , checker this out .