(CNN) Thirty-four years ago, NASA experienced an in-flight tragedy when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members aboard. Taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the cold weather conditions that morning combined with a design flaw led to a rocket booster failure and caused a structural collapse. The Space Shuttle Challenger was the world's first partially reusable launch vehicle. Allan McDonald, director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project for the engineering contractor Morton Thiokol, refused to sign a launch recommendation for the Challenger the night before over safety concerns. The space shuttle Challenger appeared to have exploded after a fireball ignited.

Source: CNN January 28, 2020 19:07 UTC