Liftoff Videos

Every mission, with the videos that tell it

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Every mission we cover, by year.

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  1. Challenger STS-51-L: The Cold O-Ring and the Launch Call

    Mission: 1986Published: 2 Nov 2026

    Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launching from Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
    Outcome
    Failure
  2. Space Shuttle Story in a Card Box: Enterprise, Challenger, Columbia

    Published: 2 Nov 2026

    A souvenir box of thirteen NASA photograph cards, labelled "Columbia Space Shuttle", is used to tell the story of the shuttle era.

  3. Challenger STS-51-L: The O-Ring Warning and the 73-Second Flight

    Mission: 1986Published: 2 Nov 2026

    Space Shuttle Challenger, on mission 51-L, lifted off at 11:38 a.m. on January 28, 1986 and broke apart 73 seconds later, killing all seven crew.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Outcome
    Failure
  4. Challenger STS-51-L: O-Rings, Cold and the Overruled Warning

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    On January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on mission 51-L, and all seven crew members died.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Outcome
    Failure
  5. Challenger: the O-Ring Chart and the Launch-Eve Teleconference

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    A documented walk through the Rogers Commission findings on the loss of Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Outcome
    Failure
  6. Challenger STS-51-L: O-Ring Failure, Cold Launch and Return to Flight

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    A documentary on the Challenger accident of January 28, 1986, when the shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds into flight with the loss of all seven astronauts.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  7. Challenger STS-51-L: The Seals, the Cold and 73 Seconds

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    A documentary on the Challenger mission 51-L, which lifted off at 11:38 on 28 January 1986 and broke apart 73 seconds later.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  8. Challenger’s Wreckage: Why NASA Sealed It in Missile Silos

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    After Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986, its recovered pieces were stored in two former Minuteman missile silos at Cape Canaveral, sealed in 1987 with 10-ton…

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Outcome
    Failure
  9. Challenger STS-51-L: The Night Engineers Said Don’t Launch

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    Built from the Rogers Commission report and sworn hearing testimony, this film follows the roughly 21 hours from the cold forecast reaching Morton Thiokol on Monday 27 January 1986 to 73 seconds…

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  10. Challenger: How Thiokol’s Engineers Were Overruled the Night Before

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    A documentary on the Challenger launch decision of 28 January 1986, which ended with the breakup of the vehicle 73 seconds after liftoff and the deaths of all seven on board.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Cape Canaveral
    Outcome
    Failure
  11. Challenger STS-51-L: O-Ring Warnings, Cabin Evidence, Rogers Findings

    Mission: 1986Published: 1 Nov 2026

    Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center Pad 39B
    Outcome
    Failure
  12. Columbia STS-107: Five Failures Behind the Foam Strike on the Wing

    Mission: 2003Published: 1 Nov 2026

    Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas on 1 February 2003 and all seven astronauts were killed.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Outcome
    Failure
  13. How NASA Recovered Space Shuttle Boosters From the Atlantic

    Published: 26 Aug 2026

    Scott Manley explains how NASA recovered the Space Shuttle's two solid rocket boosters from the Atlantic after each flight.

  14. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike and Missed Imagery Led to Loss

    Mission: 2003Published: 31 Jul 2026

    An animated documentary on the STS-107 mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, launched on January 16, 2003 for a planned 16-day science flight.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  15. Columbia’s Last Mission: Foam Strike to Breakup Over Texas

    Mission: 2003Published: 14 May 2026

    Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 16, 2003.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Launch site
    Launch Complex 39-A, Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  16. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike Led to Breakup on Re-entry

    Mission: 2003Published: 28 Mar 2026

    Space Shuttle Columbia launched on January 16, 2003 from Kennedy Space Center on the 17-day STS-107 science mission.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  17. Challenger STS-51-L: NBC4’s Live Broadcast of the 1986 Launch

    Mission: 1986Published: 28 Jan 2026

    NBC4's archived live coverage of the Jan.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center LC-39B
    Outcome
    Failure
  18. Columbia STS-107: From Foam Strike to Breakup on Re-entry

    Mission: 2003Published: 28 Nov 2025

    A documentary on the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003, which killed all seven astronauts on the return from the 16-day STS-107 science mission.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Launch site
    Cape Canaveral, Florida
    Outcome
    Failure
  19. Challenger STS-51-L: Cold, O-Rings and the Rogers Commission

    Mission: 1986Published: 4 Nov 2025

    STS-51-L, the 25th Space Shuttle mission, lifted off on January 28, 1986 in record cold, and Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds later, killing all seven crew members.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center, Launch Pad 39B
    Outcome
    Failure
  20. Challenger: How a Cold-Weather O-Ring Failure Led to the Disaster

    Mission: 1986Published: 27 Sep 2025

    Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986, and all seven astronauts died.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  21. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike Led to the Shuttle’s Loss

    Mission: 2003Published: 8 Aug 2025

    A documentary on the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003, which killed all seven crew members on re-entry.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Launch site
    Cape Canaveral, Florida
    Outcome
    Failure
  22. Challenger 1986: O-Ring Failure and the Loss of Seven Astronauts

    Mission: 1986Published: 3 Apr 2025

    A short National Geographic UK segment recounts the Challenger accident of January 28th, 1986.

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Outcome
    Failure
  23. Challenger 51-L: From Teacher in Space to the Loss of Seven Crew

    Mission: 1986Published: 25 Jan 2025

    A National Geographic special built from archival news reports and NASA footage follows Christa McAuliffe's selection as the first Teacher in Space, the crew's training, and the launch of Challenger…

    View mission: Challenger STS-51-L (1986)
    Launch site
    Kennedy Space Center
    Outcome
    Failure
  24. Columbia Disaster: How ABC News Reported the Shuttle’s Loss

    Mission: 2003Published: 1 Feb 2024

    ABC News' Feb. 1, 2003 broadcast reported that Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry, killing all seven astronauts, about 16 minutes from home.

    View mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)
    Outcome
    Failure