Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after take-off — On January 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right solid rocket booster caused an explosion soon after launch. This photograph, taken a few seconds after the accident, shows the main engines and solid rocket booster exhaust plumes entwined around a ball of gas from the external tank.
Photo Credit: By Kennedy Space Center - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=530754