A large section of the destroyed space shuttle Challenger has been found buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic, more than three decades after the tragedy that killed a schoolteacher and six others.
Divers spotted the section of the shuttle while looking for wreckage of a WW II planeIn this undated photo provided by The History Channel, underwater explorer and marine biologist Mike Barnette and wreck diver Jimmy Gadomski explore a 20-foot segment of the Space Shuttle Challenger that was found off the coast of Florida.
It's one of the biggest pieces of Challenger found in the decades since the accident, according to Ciannilli, and the first remnant to be discovered since two fragments from the left wing washed ashore in 1996. The piece is more than 4.5 metres by 4.5 metres, and likely bigger because part of it is covered with sand. Because there are square thermal tiles on the piece, it's believed to be from the shuttle's belly, Ciannilli said.
Roughly 107 metric tons of Challenger debris have been recovered since the accident. That represents about 47 per cent of the entire vehicle, including parts of the two solid-fuel boosters and external fuel tank.
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