31-years ago the Challenger Space shuttle broke apart little more than a minute after taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. <br /><br /> It was a disaster that shook both the US and the world. <br />All seven crew members were killed.<br /><br /> For those watching on January 28, 1986, it soon became apparent that something had gone horribly wrong. <br /><br /> The accident led to a 32-month suspension of the US space programme. An investigation later revealed a seal on the rocket booster had failed. <br /><br /> At the end of this month, NASA will salute those killed in the Challenger Shuttle, as well as its fallen heroes killed in the Apollo 1 and Colombia disasters. <br /><br /> On Friday, just one day earlier, NASA marked the 50th anniversary of the fatal Apollo 1 launchpad fire. <br /><br /> In what was the US space agency’s first major accident, all three crew members were killed on the ground when a rehearsal for their mission went wrong.<br />
