The Nation - News from March 23, 1986

The space shuttle Challenger broke apart high in the atmosphere after it exploded Jan. 28, and some large pieces of wreckage from the orbiter hit the water relatively intact, Navy salvage chief Cmdr. James R. Buckingham said. He said most of the wreckage of the shuttle has been found strewn across the sea bed in a roughly oval area measuring 5 miles by 7 miles, about 16 miles east of Challenger’s launch pad. He added that salvage crews may never locate any remains of the synthetic rubber O-ring seals that were breached when the fuel segment joint on the right booster rocket ruptured. He refused to discuss any aspects of the recovery of crew cabin wreckage or remains of the crew members.