Terrifying on Instagram: "On January 28, 1986, millions watched live as the Space Shuttle Challenger launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida—only to break apart just 73 seconds after liftoff. All seven astronauts on board lost their lives, including Christa McAuliffe, a schoolteacher who had been selected as the first civilian to travel into space. For her students, and for viewers across the country, the moment was heartbreaking. The disaster was traced to a faulty O-ring seal in one of t

Galaxies on Instagram: "When NASA astronaut Leland Melvin was assigned to a space shuttle mission in 2008, he was told he could bring his family for the official photo shoot wearing the famous orange “pumpkin suit.” They didn’t specify two-legged or four-legged family members, and even though dogs were not typically allowed on the NASA base, Melvin considered his dogs part of his family. So, Melvin brought his rescue dogs, Jake and Scout, along with a neighbor who could hold them and keep them q

Terrifying on Instagram: "On Tuesday, January 28, 1986, at 11:39 a.m. EST, the Space Shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Among the seven crew members was Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher selected to be the first private citizen in space through NASA’s Teacher in Space Project. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, at an altitude of approximately 46,000 feet, the shuttle suffered a catastrophic structural failure. A flawed design in the Soli