The STS-51-L mission was intended to deploy the TDRS-1 communications satellite and carry Christa McAuliffe, who was selected to be the first teacher in space as part of an educational outreach program. At 11:38 AM EST, Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Just 73 seconds into the flight, the shuttle broke apart, resulting in the loss of all seven crew members aboard. The catastrophe was later attributed to a failure in the O-ring seals in its right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which did not perform optimally due to the unusually low temperatures on the morning of the launch. The crew comprised of Mission Commander Francis R. Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Payload Specialist Christa McAuliffe, and Mission Specialist Gregory Jarvis. Following the explosion, pieces of the shuttle rained down into the Atlantic Ocean, sparking an immediate investigation by the Rogers Commission, which provided recommendations to improve shuttle safety and redesign several components of the spacecraft. This tragedy not only brought attention to the technical failures of the shuttle program but also emphasized the need for thorough regulatory oversight and accountability in NASA's operations.