One of the largest pieces of the Challenger spacecraft was found at the bottom of the ocean

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has reviewed images from the ocean floor and confirmed that they show a wreckage of the space shuttle Challenger.

Here's What We Know

A wreckage of the spacecraft was found by a group of documentary filmmakers who are searching for the remains of aircraft from World War II. The found fragment of the shuttle, a length of about 6 meters now belongs to the United States, but the federal agency does not know how to dispose of the find.

At this point, only 107 tons of spacecraft wreckage are found, which is less than half its total mass with accelerators. Most of the fragments were buried at Cape Canaveral.

The crash occurred on January 28, 1986, as part of the STS-51L mission. The spacecraft collapsed after the explosion of the external fuel tank in the second minute of flight. The crash killed seven astronauts, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. She won the Teacher in Space Contest.

Source: NASA