The underwater camera crew was searching for remains of Second World War aircraft near the Bermuda Triangle earlier this year when they found a 20-foot segment of the doomed Space Shuttle.
The explosion killed all seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe, who had been selected to become the first teacher in space. Debris from the explosion rained down onto the Atlantic Ocean., divers are seen with a fan clearing ocean matter from the debris as fish dart around the reddish material. Part of the wreckage remains buried so its total size is unknown.
“I can certainly say with confidence, it’s one of the largest we’ve ever found,” says Mike Ciannilli, a NASA manager. But he adds that he’s unsure which part of the spacecraft the divers found.Finding the wreckage caused a “rollercoaster ride of emotions”, according to one of the two divers, Mike Barnette. “When we found it, [there were] a lot of mixed emotions,” the marine biologist says. “I’m used to diving on shipwrecks that are decades to centuries old, and not a piece of the space program.