A Day That Shook The World: Challenger space shuttle explodes

Tuesday 08 March 2011 11:10 GMT

(Getty )

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On 28 January 1986, the world was shaken when the Challenger space shuttle exploded without warning scant minutes after launch.

Dramatic pictures seemed to show the explosion emerging from one of the fuel boosters, though the fireball quickly engulfed the rest of the shuttle, killing all seven astronauts in seconds. The disaster would prove a major setback to space exploration.

Watch original footage from the disaster in this British Pathé video, above.

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A Day That Shook The World: Challenger space shuttle explodes

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