STARSHIP
Challenger
Class:	space shuttle
Registry:	OV-099
Affiliation:	United States of America, NASA
Launched:	4 April 1983
Status:	destroyed (28 January 1986)

The Challenger (OV-099) was a space shuttle built by the United States of America. Challenger was the third NASA shuttle built, and was first launched on 4 April 1983.

On 28 January 1986, Challenger was destroyed, exploding 73 seconds after being launched. All seven members of the crew were killed in the explosion.

One of the seven crew members was a civilian school teacher, Christa McAuliffe. The USS McAuliffe and the class F shuttlecraft McAuliffe ,attached to the Federation starship USS Farragut, was named in her honor. (DS9 comic: "Frozen Boyhood", ST reference: Ships of the Line 2006)

Challenger mission specialist Ellison Onizuka was similarly honored by Starfleet, with a type-15 shuttlecraft Onizuka on the USS Enterprise-D named after him. (TNG episodes: "The Ensigns of Command", "The Mind's Eye")

Elias Vaughn once viewed the memorial to the crew of the Challenger. In 2376, the Inamuri entity allowed Vaughn to experience the memory. (DS9 - Mission Gamma novel: Twilight)

PersonnelEdit

Early flightsEdit

• Sally Ride (STS-7, 1983; STS 41G, 1984)

Final flightEdit

• Gregory Jarvis
• Christa McAuliffe
• Ronald McNair
• Ellison Onizuka
• Judith Resnik
• Dick Scobee
• Michael J. Smith

External linkEdit

• Space Shuttle Challenger article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.