Section of destroyed shuttle Challenger found on ocean floor

In this photo provided by the HISTORY® Channel, underwater explorer and marine biologist Mike Barnette and wreck diver Jimmy Gadomski explore a 20-foot segment of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger that the team discovered in the waters off the coast of Florida during the filming of The HISTORY® Channel’s new series, “The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters,” premiering Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (The HISTORY® Channel via AP)

By Marcia Dunn November 11, 2022 2 min read

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A large section of the destroyed space shuttle Challenger has been found buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic, more than three decades after the tragedy that killed a schoolteacher and six others.

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center announced the discovery Thursday.

“Upon first hearing about it, it brings you right back to 1986,” said Michael Ciannilli, a NASA manager in charge of the remains of both lost shuttles, Challenger and Columbia.

In a NASA interview, he said it’s one of the biggest pieces of Challenger ever found in the decades since the accident.