LAUNCHER INFO

Space Shuttle Challenger was the second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program to be put into service following Columbia. Its maiden flight, STS-6, started on April 4, 1983. It launched and landed nine times before breaking apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission, STS-51-L, on January 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members, including a civilian school teacher. It was the first of two shuttles to be destroyed in flight, the other being Columbia in 2003.

MANUFACTURER INFO

Lockheed Space Operations Company

LAUNCHER SPECIFICATIONS

(diameter)

8.4 m

TO GTO

0 kg

(length)

38.1 m

TO LEO

24400 kg

(reusable)

true

LAUNCH STATISTICS