Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. The Challenger mission was a highly anticipated launch carrying not only astronauts but also teacher Christa McAuliffe into space. It was launched on a bitterly cold day in Florida with at a temperature of 36 degrees, 15 degrees colder than any previous launch. At 73 seconds into the flight, an O-ring failed due to the cold conditions and led to the breakup and explosion of the shuttle, killing all of those it carried. For many people, it is one of the historical events that they remember most, on par with the assassination of JFK or the 9-11 tragedy.
Here are a few stories about the disaster, including two articles about the weather behind the explosion.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster
History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/challenger-disaster
Accuweather: https://www.accuweather.com/en/outdoor-articles/astronomy/weather-history-challenger-dis/60648
Weather.com: https://weather.com/science/space/news/space-shuttle-challenger-weather-role
NPR.org: Remembering an engineer who tried to stop the launch. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/02/06/146490064/remembering-roger-boisjoly-he-tried-to-stop-shuttle-challenger-launch
