The debris found off the coast of Florida has been identified on Thursday by NASA as parts of the Challenger spaceship that exploded less than two minutes upon launch - killing all seven members onboard in 1986.

According to NASA, the “artifact” was stumbled upon by a film crew searching for aircraft from World War II off Florida's east coast after divers found a man-made object in the sand, and considering that it was located near the “space coast” where the mission was launched from, NASA was contacted. 

The agency's administrator Bill Nelson said in his statement, “While it has been nearly 37 years since seven daring and brave explorers lost their lives aboard Challenger, this tragedy will forever be seared in the collective memory of our country,” adding, “For millions around the globe, myself included, 28 January 1986 still feels like yesterday.”

'The teacher flight'

On that day, the takeoff of the space shuttle was permitted even though staff addressed concerns that were found in an investigation later regarding a major malfunction as a result of freezing temperatures threatening the strength of the shuttle - namely the shuttle’s O-ring seals which prevent fluids from leaking and keep components sealed.

The Challenger is still remembered as the shuttle that changed “Nasa’s space program forever." It was not only the second shuttle to reach space and complete nine journeys between 1983 and 1986 before its explosion, but according to Space.com, it carried the first US woman and the first African American into space.

The disaster was portrayed in a documentary in 2020 on Netflix called "Challenger: The Final Flight."

One of the members onboard the flight was a teacher, Christa McAuliffe, who was planning to hold a class for her students from orbit. The shuttle was also named “the teacher flight” for her as she was the first civilian to head to space, topping over 11,000 applicants who applied for the spot. 

Following the disaster, NASA became less enthusiastic to open space flights to civilians, as Smithsonian reported in 2016. Civilians, namely billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson have launched space travel on their own and through their own means.