On this day in 1986, the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart within minutes of launch, resulting in the deaths of all 7 crew members. Investigations into the cause of the accident called into question factors of NASA’s work environment and attention to safety in engineering, and the space shuttle program went on a 32-month hiatus. See below for newspaper clippings from the days and years that followed the disaster.
For more on the Challenger disaster, try this search or another one here, or try one of your own using the search page on Newspapers.com.