Challenger
Scobee was assigned commander for the ill-fated STS-51-L mission. The mission, designed to deploy a satellite to study the approaching Halley's Comet and to inaugurate the Teacher in Space Project, was delayed numerous times due to bad weather and technical glitches. When the mission finally did lift off the pad, an O-ring seal failure destroyed the shuttle 73 seconds into the flight, killing Scobee and the other six members of the crew; the tragedy, viewed live on national television, prompted several days of national mourning, as well as a major shakeup at NASA. Scobee died a Lieutenant colonel. At T+68 into the mission, the CAPCOM Richard Covey informed the crew that they were "go at throttle up", and Commander Scobee confirmed the call - his last recorded words were his response, "Roger, go at throttle up." The shuttle broke up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km).
Some experts, including one of NASA's lead investigators, Robert Overmyer, who was closest to Scobee, believed most if not all of the crew were alive and possibly conscious during the entire descent until impact with the ocean. After the investigation, Overmyer stated, "I not only flew with Dick Scobee, we owned a plane together, and I know Scob did everything he could to save his crew. Scob fought for any and every edge to survive. He flew that ship without wings all the way down."
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