This Day In History; January 28, 1986 On January 28, 1986, one of the nation’s, and certainly NASA’s, most heart-wrenching tragedies occurred when the space shuttle Challenger blew apart just a minute after lift-off, ultimately killing all on board. This event, which had been anticipated with such optimism, turned into a cause for national mourning almost in the blink of … Continue reading This Day in History: January 28th- O-Rings to Disaster