STS-51L Mission Patch

25th Space Shuttle Mission

10th Flight of Challenger Crew: Francis R. Scobee, Commander

Michael J. Smith, Pilot

Judith A. Resnik, Mission Specialist

Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist

Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist

Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space

Gregory B. Jarvis, Payload Specialist

The mission featured America's "Teacher in Space" Sharon Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe was scheduled to teach lessons from space which would be distributed live via satellite to schools throughout the world. The primary payload was the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-2 (TDRS-2), originally scheduled to fly aboard canceled mission STS-51E. An explosion 73 seconds after launch resulted in the loss of Challenger and crew.