For millions, it was an event that would be seared into their memories for the rest of their lives – on par with the Kennedy assassination and 9/11.

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift off, killing the seven crew members on board. The space shuttle disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Cape Canaveral in Florida.

It's been 39 years since the Challenger space shuttle, carrying seven people, took off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, exploding in mere minutes.