1986 in spaceflight
The year 1986 saw the destruction of Space Shuttle Challenger shortly after lift-off, killing all seven aboard, the first in-flight deaths of American astronauts. This accident followed the successful flight of Columbia just weeks earlier, and dealt a major setback to the U.S. crewed space program, suspending the Shuttle program for 32 months.
Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates during the launch of STS-51-L, killing all seven astronauts | |
| National firsts | |
|---|---|
| Satellite | Sweden |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | Ariane 2 |
| Retirements | Ariane 1 Space Shuttle Challenger |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 2 |
| Total travellers | 9 |
The year also saw numerous fly-bys of Halley's Comet as well as other successes.
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