STS-51-L Recovered Debris (Forward Skirt)

(April 22, 1986) On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Using submarines and sonar, among other equipment, to scan the ocean floor for debris, search and recovery teams located many pieces of the Shuttle. Shown here is the forward skirt of the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which transfers thrust loads from the SRB to the External Tank and contains much of the SRB's electrical and instrumentation subsystem.