When did the America’s worst space disaster happen?
America’s worst spare disaster was during the launch of Challenger in 1986 when hot gases leaked through a joint in the booster casing. A tongue of flame burned into the main tank and ignited the fuel, blowing the shuttle to pieces and killing its seven crew members, among them was Christa McAuliffe, a teacher. The disaster set back the programme by nearly three years, as engineers struggled to prevent it from ever happening again.
