Challenger Space Shuttle Debris Found Off Florida Coast: NASA

FLORIDA — NASA this week confirmed that footage from an underwater dive off the east coast of Florida captured wreckage from the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded 73 seconds after takeoff in 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

The debris was discovered by a documentary crew filming a new series called "The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters," CNN reported. The series is set to premiere this month on the History Channel.

The team was looking for the wreckage of a World War II-era aircraft when it found the artifact, NASA officials said in a news release. The item's proximity to Florida's space coast, as well as its modern construction, led the team to contact NASA, officials said.

The Challenger broke apart shortly after its launch on Jan. 28, 1986. Among the crew members was a teacher who was set to become the first civilian in space.

NASA later learned a major malfunction after liftoff resulted in the loss of Challenger. While the spacecraft waited overnight to launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a cold front brought freezing temperatures, causing ice to form on the shuttle. Despite concerns raised by some shuttle program employees, managers cleared the mission for launch, with liftoff occurring at 11:38 a.m. ET.

An agency investigation showed the unexpectedly cold temperatures affected the integrity of O-ring seals in the solid rocket booster segment joints.

"While it has been nearly 37 years since seven daring and brave explorers lost their lives aboard Challenger, this tragedy will forever be seared in the collective memory of our country," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us."

Mike Barnette, a diver who led the crew that found the shuttle artifact, told CNN it was "sobering" to realize that his team found a piece of the shuttle.

"I can almost smell the smells of that day," Barnette told CNN, referring to the day the Challenger exploded. "It was just so burned into my brain."

According to NASA, the agency is considering what additional actions it can take regarding the artifact that will "properly honor the legacy of Challenger’s fallen astronauts and the families who loved them."