The launch of the Challenger space shuttle was supposed to inspire future astronauts, with teacher Christa McAuliffe on board alongside the NASA crew. But technical and weather hitches delayed it to 28 January 1986, only for an unseasonal freeze to hit the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

The mix of wet weather and sub-zero temperatures caused rubber O-ring seals to fail, and the shuttle broke up 73 seconds after lift-off, killing those on board and delaying the US space programme for years.

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