Documentary crew finds sunken piece of Challenger Space Shuttle near Florida coast

Gianna Melillo
·3 min read
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Story at a glance

  • Documentarians found a 20-foot piece of debris from the Challenger Space Shuttle off the coast of Florida.

  • In 1986, the shuttle malfunctioned seconds after takeoff, killing all seven passengers aboard.

  • The artifact is the first debris from the wreck to be discovered since 1996.

NASA confirmed a sunken artifact from the Challenger Space Shuttle was found off the east coast of Florida.

The discovery was made by a documentary crew that set out in search of a World War II-era aircraft as part of a new series called “The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters.”

Instead, divers came upon a 20-foot long piece of debris with a modern construction and square tiles. Footage of the wreckage was captured in May and the team contacted the space administration in August. This week, NASA confirmed the origins of the artifact in a release.

Footage of the discovery can be seen on the History Channel’s Twitter account.

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On the morning of Jan 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle orbiter launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., but exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven passengers aboard. The disaster was broadcast live on televisions across the country.

Francis R. Scobee commanded the mission, and it was piloted by Michael J. Smith. Other passengers included Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka; Judith A. Resnik; Gregory B. Jarvis; and S. Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe was an elementary school teacher set to become the first civilian to enter space.

Investigations later revealed an unexpected cold front affected a seal on the solid rocket booster segment joints. This led to a gas leak, causing the major malfunction.

NASA is considering next steps for the artifact to honor the legacy of those who died in the tragedy. U.S. law dictates all space shuttle artifacts are U.S. government property.

The debris is the first to be recovered since pieces of the shuttle washed up on a beach in 1996. Its distinctive square tiles led the divers to believe they had found a piece of the Challenger’s underbelly, an area coated with the squares to protect it from heat upon returning to the earth’s atmosphere.

“While it has been nearly 37 years since seven daring and brave explorers lost their lives aboard Challenger, this tragedy will forever be seared in the collective memory of our country. For millions around the globe, myself included, Jan. 28, 1986, still feels like yesterday,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a release.

“This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us. At NASA, the core value of safety is – and must forever remain – our top priority, especially as our missions explore more of the cosmos than ever before.”

The launch was scheduled to be NASA’s 25th shuttle mission, while the disaster and subsequent Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy were integral in influencing NASA’s culture around safety, the agency said.

“Challenger and her crew live on in the hearts and memories of both NASA and the nation,” said Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center. “Today, as we turn our sights again toward the Moon and Mars, we see that the same love of exploration that drove the Challenger crew is still inspiring the astronauts of today’s Artemis Generation, calling them to build on the legacy of knowledge and discovery for the benefit of all humanity.”

Although the area in which the debris was found is northwest of the Bermuda Triangle, it is known as Florida’s Space Coast, as NASA has launched rockets there since the agency’s inception.

The History Channel documentary is scheduled to air on Nov. 22.

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