NASA's Challenger Uncovered in Ocean Floor: Biggest Section Found 35 Years Since Launch Disaster

A destroyed part of NASA's space shuttle Challenger was found 35 years after the launch incident.

In a recent press release from NASA, the space agency announced that parts of the Challenger have been discovered buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic. The section is reportedly the biggest of the previously uncovered space shuttle.

According to Click Orlando, the History Channel will launch a documentary regarding the latest Challenger discovery on November 22.

Filmmakers Accidentally Found Biggest Section of NASA Challenger

The discovery was made by divers for a History Channel documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War II plane, who sent a video to NASA confirming the origin of the space shuttle debris in March.

NASA confirms in its press release that the destroyed piece was a part of the Challenger that broke apart shortly after its liftoff in 1986, representing 47% of the entire shuttle.

ABC News reports that the destroyed Challenger piece measures around 15 feet by 15 feet. Additionally, the piece is believed to be a part of the "space shuttle's belly" due to the presence of square thermal tiles.

However, the recent discovery is not the first uncovered part of the Challenger, as the New York Times reports that two big pieces were found in Cocoa Beach, which was 20 miles south of the Kennedy Space Center. The first two pieces of the Challenger were originally connected and believed to have come from the flaps of the destroyed space shuttle's left wing.

A Look Back at the Tragic NASA Challenger Launch Disaster

The discovery comes more than three decades after the tragedy that killed a total of seven people aboard the space shuttle, including six NASA Challenger passengers and Christa McAuliffe, who was bound to be the first school teacher to reach space.

The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after its liftoff on January 28, 1986. A leak in a joint on the right solid-fuel rocket booster was blamed. Additionally, the remains of the killed astronauts were found in March 1986 in the debris of the crew cabin, but the rest of the space shuttle is yet to be fully uncovered.

NASA manager Michael Ciannilli, who is in charge of the remains of the lost shuttle Challenger, confirms that the sent video of the uncovered section was clear and convincing evidence.

"Of course, the emotions come back, right?" said NASA manager Ciannilli, regarding the underwater video footage, "My heart skipped a beat, I must say, and it brought me right back to 1986 ... and what we all went through as a nation."

As of now, the recovered debris remains on the ocean floor near the Florida coast and remains the property of the U.S. government. The families of all seven of the diseased Challenger crew victims have been notified.

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Written by: Andi C.