STARSHIP
Challenger
Class:	Space shuttle
Registry:	OV-099
Affiliation:	United States of America / NASA
Launched:	1983
Status:	Destroyed (1986)

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

On January 28, 1986 Challenger was destroyed when she exploded 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. A class F shuttlecraft McAuliffe attached to the USS Farragut was named in her honor. (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")

External LinksEdit

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