40 years since Challenger explosion: What did NASA learn from the disaster?

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published January 28, 2026 at 9:05 AM PST

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The space shuttle Challenger is destroyed shortly after lifting off, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1986, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew of seven, including NASA's first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, died in the explosion. (Bruce Weaver/AP)

On Jan. 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. All seven crewmembers on board were killed, including the first teacher to go into space.

The disaster was one of the most significant events of the 1980s, watched live by people around the world, and it grounded all space shuttle missions for almost three years.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Adam Higginbotham, author of the book “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space,” about what happened, the lives lost, and what NASA learned from the disaster.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.