WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

A large piece of debris from the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger washes up on Cocoa Beach near the Coconuts on the Beach restaurant and bar almost 11 years after Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff from KSC's Launch Pad 39B. The piece, about 15 feet by 6 feet, is believed to be part of an elevon or rudder. It is one of the biggest pieces to wash ashore to date. A smaller piece also was found Tuesday several blocks south. NASA recovered thousands of pounds of debris from the Atlantic Ocean after the Jan. 28, 1986 accident; about 50 percent of the orbiter remained in the ocean after search operations were suspended. The previously retrieved remains are stored at Cape Canaveral Air Station, mostly in two Minutemen silos. The two newly recovered pieces will be brought to KSC's Security Patrol Headquarters on Contractor Road for examination, documentation and temporary storage.