Main content

Watching 1986 shuttle crash was 'soul crushing'

On 28 January 1986 the Challenger space shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after being launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

All seven crew members were killed and the disaster was blamed on a faulty seal.

Millions of schoolchildren were watching the launch live because a teacher called Christa McAuliffe was on board as part of Nasa's Teachers in Space initiative.

The technology journalist Michael Grothaus was nine at the time and says: "I remember looking at my teacher and she had a look of disbelief on her face. She flipped the channel and ran into the hallway."

This clip is from 5 live Daily on 5 February 2015.

Release date:

Duration:

1 minute

This clip is from

Featured in...