Navy divers have located wreckage of the crew compartment of the space shuttle Challenger lying on the ocean bottom in 100 feet of water and confirmed that it contains remains of the astronauts killed nearly six weeks ago, NASA said today.
Divers, aided by sonar, made a "possible" identification of the crew cabin late Friday afternoon. On Saturday, another group of divers from the USS Preserver, who the space agency said were "thoroughly briefed on debris identification," began to search the area.
"Subsequent dives provided positive identification of the Challenger crew compartment debris and the existence of crew remains," the National Aeronautics and Space Administration statement said.
The families of the seven crew members were notified of the discovery over the weekend. In deference to the families, the agency said it will release no further details until the recovery is completed and the remains are identified.
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