NASA has confirmed that debris found on the ocean floor off Florida's Atlantic coast comes from the fallen space shuttle Challenger, which exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Divers discovered the 20-foot (6 meters) section of Challenger's hull while searching for downed World War II-era aircraft as part of a History Channel documentary series, "The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters." Northwest of the Triangle, the filmmakers found a patch of seafloor containing modern-looking debris, partially covered in sand. Given the debris' proximity to NASA's Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida, the filmmakers thought it could be linked to the space agency and contacted NASA about the discovery.
NASA examined the team's footage and confirmed that the debris was from Challenger. NASA then notified the families of the seven astronauts before announcing the discovery Nov. 10.
