STS-51-F

Discussion is turning to STS-51-F, the 1985 Space Shuttle Challenger mission that suffered an engine failure during ascent and became the only full-abort-to-orbit flight in shuttle history. Despite the failure of one of its three main engines just over five minutes into launch, the crew managed to reach a stable but lower-than-planned orbit and completed their astronomy mission. Commenters are revisiting how the crew and mission control handled the emergency.