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BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – It’s been 34 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after takeoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On January 28, 1986 the Challenger lifted off and exploded 73 seconds into flight. The shuttle broke apart and fell 46,000 feet to the Atlantic Ocean.

All seven crew members died. Their names were Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe would have been the first teacher in space.

The explosion was a result of a rocket booster failure which ignited the fuel tank.

17% of the American population witnessed the launch broadcast on live television, in part because of McAuliffe’s high profile.

  • UNSPECIFIED LOCATION - NOVEMBER 11: (FILE PHOTO) Space Shuttle Challenger crew members gather for an official portrait November 11, 1985 in an unspecified location. (Back, L-R) Mission Specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher-in-Space participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis and mission specialist Judy Resnick. (Front, L-R) Pilot Mike Smith, commander Dick Scobee and mission specialist Ron McNair. The Challenger and its seven member crew were lost seventy three seconds after launch when a booster rocket failed. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)
  • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. FL - JANUARY 28: (FILE PHOTO) The Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off January 28, 1986 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The Challenger and its seven member crew were lost seventy three seconds after launch when a booster rocket failed. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)
  • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - JANUARY 28: An honor guard places a wreath under the names of the space shuttle Challenger crew 28 January in front of an astronaut memorial at Kennedy Space Center, Florida as part of a commemorative ceremony marking the tenth aniversary of the disaster. Ten years ago the space shuttle Challenger was lost with all her crew, Commander Dick Scobee, Pilot Michael Smith, Judith Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair, Greg Jarvis and teacher Christa McAuliffe. (Photo credit should read BRUCE WEAVER/AFP via Getty Images)
  • The insignia of NASA's STS-41-B mission on the space shuttle 'Challenger', November 1983. From left to right, the patch depicts the deployment of a PAM-D assisted satellite, the 'Challenger' and an astronaut carrying out EVA (Extra-vehicular activity) using a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). The eleven stars reference the mission's original designation as STS-11. Underneath are the names of crew members Vance D. Brand, Robert L. Gibson, Bruce McCandless II, Ronald E. McNair and Robert L. Stewart. The artist was Robert McCall. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
  • A memorial service at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for the crew of the 'Challenger' space shuttle, which broke up shortly after take-off on mission STS-51-L, 31st January 1986. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
  • US space shuttle Challenger lifts off 28 January 1986 from a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, 72 seconds before its explosion killing it crew of seven. Challenger was 72 seconds into its flight, travelling at nearly 2,000 mph at a height of ten miles, when it was suddenly envelope in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded. AFP PHOTO NASA (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Picture taken 28 January 1986 showing the solid fuel rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger starting to explode over Kennedy Space Center. The US space shuttle exploded seconds after lift-off, killing it crew of seven. Challenger was 72 seconds into its flight, travelling at nearly 2,000 mph at a height of ten miles, when it was suddenly envelope in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded. AFP PHOTO BOB PEARSON (Photo credit should read BOB PEARSON/AFP via Getty Images)
  • June Scobee Rodgers, widow of space shuttle Challenger commander Dick Scobee, puts her hand on the memorial to the Challenger crew during a ceremony for NASA's annual Day of Remembrance as well as other NASA colleagues "who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery" at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on January 28, 2015. Challenger crashed shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
  • ARLINGTON, VA - JANUARY 28: A wreath stands before the space shuttle Challenger memorial on NASA's annual Day of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery on January 28, 2015 in Arlington, Virginia. On the anniversary of the Challenger disaster in 1986, NASA staff gather with the crews' families to pay tribute to the NASA crew members who have lost their lives advancing the cause of exploration. (Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)
  • Walt Disney Television via Getty Images NEWS - SPACE FLIGHTS - Space Shuttle 'Challenger' Tragedy Coverage (On TV Screen) - Airdate: January 28, 1986. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) SPACE SHUTTLE 'CHALLENGER' EXPLOSION