Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

At seven o’clock in the morning, the crew of the Columbia prepared to launch, despite being in the midst of a thunderstorm. Despite being under pressure to launch as scheduled because Acting Administrator Bill Graham had traveled from Washington, DC, to watch the launch, this was impossible, and the launch was delayed.

As 1986 got underway, NASA looked forward to a busy year, with a record number of missions planned. Among these were missions to broadcast color images of Haley’s Comet and plans to bring the largest-ever telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, into orbit. However, the Columbia had repeatedly faced setbacks and malfunctions. These were due in part to the wear and tear of reusing the equipment but also to human error, as NASA was running its staff ragged, with many of them working 12-hour days without any days off. Delays in the Columbia’s launch further interrupted the launch schedule of the Challenger. NASA was under pressure to find ways to make the Challenger flights stick to their schedule regardless since they were tied to the navigation of Haley’s Comet.

The Columbia finally launched two days later on January 12, and the focus quickly shifted to the Challenger.