Rocket Launch Operations

Images of rocket assembly and testing at a launch pad with workers preparing various components for space missions.

Space shuttle Challenger disaster. Grey-brown smoke on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster, in highlighted circle, was the first visible sign a joint breach occurred. Jan. 28, 1986.
Space shuttle Challenger disaster. Grey-brown smoke on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster, in highlighted circle, was the first visible sign a joint breach occurred. Jan. 28, 1986.