Intact wreckage from the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger was recently found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, NASA officials announced Thursday. The remains are a large 15 feet by 15 feet section composed of square thermal tiles probably from the shuttle’s belly. The fragments were found in March by divers searching for a sunken World War II plane for a History Channel documentary. NASA personnel were able to verify through video footage that the debris was parts of Challenger that had broken off and fell into the sea. Challenger was launched on Jan. 28, 1986, flying about 46,000 feet into the air before it abruptly broke apart in a fiery catastrophe 73 seconds after takeoff. The crew of seven—including Christa McAuliffe, the first school teacher chosen to go into space—were killed. “Upon first hearing about it, it brings you right back to 1986,” Michael Ciannilli, a NASA manager in charge of the remains of Challenger, told the AP. The History Channel plans to air its documentary of the discovery on Nov. 22.
