The space shuttle Challenger explosion was a defining moment of the 1980s. Whether you were watching on TV or in person, chances are, you remember exactly where you were and how you felt.

Forty years after the Challenger disaster, NPR explores the engineers' last-minute efforts to stop the launch, their decades of guilt and the vital lessons that remain critical for NASA today.

For the millions of people across the country and around the world that watched the tragic loss of Challenger live, the memory is still lives on.

The Challenger explosion was an awakening for people in the 1980s. It shook confidence in received narratives of safety.

NASA's space shuttle Challenger completed 10 missions before it broke apart during a launch in 1986, killing seven astronauts.

The myth of "routine" spaceflight was tragically shattered in 1986 as thousands of schoolchildren watched space shuttle Challenger explode on live television. In this LiveNOW & Then full episode, we hear from witnesses young and old.

The myth of "routine" spaceflight was tragically shattered in 1986 as thousands of schoolchildren watched space shuttle Challenger explode on live television. In this LiveNOW & Then full episode, we hear from witnesses young and old.