SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER - STS - 51L CREW - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: LT. COLONEL ELLISON S. "EL" ONIZUKA, GREG JARVIS, RONALD E. McNAIR, LT. COLONEL DICK (FRANCIS R.) SCOBEE, CHRISTA McAULIFFE, JUDITH A. "JUDY" RESNIK, CAPTAIN MICHAEL J. SMITH - HFSID 350567

CHALLENGER STS-51L: DICK SCOBEE, MICHAEL J. SMITH, RONALD McNAIR, ELLISON ONIZUKA, JUDY RESNIK, GREG JARVIS and CHRISTA McAULIFFE
This official NASA photograph is a crew photo of the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L, which exploded in midair on Jan. 29, 1986 and which was the deadliest accident in NASA history until the destruction of the Columbia in 2003. This rare photograph contains the signatures of all seven crew members of STS-51L, who are shown in flight suits and holding their helmets. All seven people in this photo died in the Challenger disaster. Comes with a signed statement by a Kennedy Space Center employee, who collected these signatures with the help of a fellow employee.

Photograph signed: "Ellison Onizuka", "S. Christa McAuliffe", "Greg/Jarvis", "Judy Resnik", "Mike Smith", "Dick/Scobee" and "Ron McNair". Color, 10x8 overall, image 9¼x6¾ (one surface). NASA publicity photo with NASA logo in upper right corner. Captioned: "Crew of Space Shuttle/Mission 51-L. This photograph is an official NASA crew photo of the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L. It contains the signatures of all seven crew members, including teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died when the space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after launch. Accompanied by a signed statement by Fred A. Moats, a Kennedy Space Center employee who owned this photo. In part: "During my employment all employees had the oppertunity [sic] to meet some of the astronauts that visited our workplace. I was able to get a few signitures [sic]. I did not meet the 51-L crew in person. A friend from Johnson Space Center had a better oppertunity [sic] to do so. After contact with her she said she would try for their signitures [sic] which she was able to do." He added: "At this time I feel it is time to pass it on to someone who shares the same interest in space memorabilia as I do." Lightly toned, otherwise, fine condition.  Framed by the Gallery of History, 40¼ x 19½.

The space shuttle Challenger mission STS-51L, the craft's 10th flight, was launched on Jan. 28, 1986. This was the deadliest accident in NASA history until the destruction of the Columbia during its Feb. 1, 2003 re-entry. The crew of seven included Mission Commander FRANCIS "DICK" SCOBEE, a veteran of the Challenger's 41-C mission (April 6-13, 1984); Pilot MICHAEL J. SMITH, a former U.S. Navy test pilot on his maiden shuttle voyage; and Mission Specialists Dr. RONALD McNAIR, who had previously been aboard Challenger mission 41-B (February 3-11, 1984); Colonel ELLISON ONIZUKA, a former crew member on Discovery mission STS 51-C (January 24-27, 1985); and Dr. JUDITH RESNIK, who had been aboard the maiden flight of the orbiter Discovery (August 30-September 5, 1984). Also aboard were two civilian Payload Specialists, GREGORY JARVIS of Hughes Co., who specialized in space communications satellites; and SHARON CHRISTA McAULIFFE, a "teacher in space" from Concord, New Hampshire, who was scheduled to teach a televised class to school children across America. Seventy-three seconds into the flight, a crucial seal in the rocket failed, causing the craft to explode in a ball of fire with the tragic loss of all crew members. NASA postponed all Space Shuttle flights for over two years because of this disaster and didn't resume them until the Sept. 29, 1988 Discovery mission of STS-26.