1985 space shuttle challenger lifts off for mission sts 61 a its 10 30
View in full resolution: 6408 x 4806
1985 41 years ago Historical Events October 30 2 sources

Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission.

On October 30, in the year 1985, Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of October 30, one of 438 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, and launched on its maiden flight in April 1983. It was destroyed in January 1986 soon after launch in a disaster that killed all seven crew members aboard.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on October 30, 1985 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 18 October 2026.

On This Date in History 438

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 30 Matt Peacock, Australian journalist and author (born 1952)
Historical Events 2023 Oct 30 First rescue of a prisoner during the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Historical Events 2022 Oct 30 A pedestrian suspension bridge collapses in the city of Morbi, Gujarat, leading to the deaths of at least 135 people.
Historical Events 2020 Oct 30 A magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, triggering a tsunami. At least 119 people…
Selected Events 2020 Oct 30 A magnitude-7.0 earthquake occurred in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, triggering a tsunami and causing 119…
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 30 Kim Joo-hyuk, South Korean actor (born 1972)
Historical Events 2015 Oct 30 A fire in a nightclub in the Romanian capital of Bucharest kills sixty-four people and leaves more than 147 injured.
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 30 Mel Daniels, American basketball player and coach (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 30 Al Molinaro, American actor (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 30 Sinan Şamil Sam, Turkish boxer (born 1974)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 30 Norm Siebern, American baseball player and scout (born 1933)
Historical Events 2014 Oct 30 Sweden becomes the first European Union member state to officially recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign…
Historical Events 2014 Oct 30 Four people are killed when a Beechcraft Super King Air crashes at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in…
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 30 Elijah Malok Aleng, Sudanese general and politician (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 30 Renée Asherson, English actress (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 30 Juan Flavier, Filipino physician and politician (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 30 Ida Elizabeth Osbourne, Australian actress and radio host (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 30 Bob Geigel, American wrestler and promoter (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 30 Thomas Menino, American businessman and politician, 53rd Mayor of Boston (born 1942)
Historical Events 2013 Oct 30 Forty-five people are killed and seven injured after a bus catches fire in Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh…
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 30 Bill Currie, American baseball player (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 30 Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 30 Michael Palmer, American physician and author (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 30 Frank Wess, American saxophonist and flute player (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 30 Franck Biancheri, French politician (born 1961)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 30 Samina Raja, Pakistani poet and educator (born 1961)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 30 Dan Tieman, American basketball player and coach (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 30 Harry Mulisch, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (born 1927)
Selected Events 2010 Oct 30 American comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert hosted the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C.
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 30 Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist and ethnologist (born 1908)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 30 Pedro Pompilio, Argentinian businessman (born 1950)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 30 Washoe, American chimpanzee (born 1965)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 30 Robert Goulet, American actor and singer (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 30 Linda S. Stein, American businesswoman and manager (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 30 John Woodruff, American runner and colonel (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 30 Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist and author (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 30 Junji Kinoshita, Japanese playwright and scholar (born 1914)
Historical Events 2005 Oct 30 The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II) is reconsecrated after…
Notable Deaths 2005 Oct 30 Al López, American baseball player and manager (born 1908)
Notable Deaths 2005 Oct 30 Shamsher Singh Sheri, Indian politician (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2004 Oct 30 Phyllis Frost, Australian philanthropist, founded Keep Australia Beautiful (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2004 Oct 30 Peggy Ryan, American actress and dancer (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2003 Oct 30 Steve O'Rourke, English race car driver and manager (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2002 Oct 30 Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2002 Oct 30 Jam Master Jay, American rapper and producer (born 1965)
Selected Events 2002 Oct 30 After his terminal-cancer diagnosis, Warren Zevon made his last public appearance on the Late Show with David…
Selected Events 2001 Oct 30 Michael Jackson released Invincible, his final studio album and the most expensive album ever produced.
Notable Births 2000 Oct 30 Giselle, Japanese singer
Notable Deaths 2000 Oct 30 Steve Allen, American actor, television personality, game show panelist, and talk show host (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 1999 Oct 30 Maigonis Valdmanis, Latvian basketball player (born 1933)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

More on October 30

Browse Further

📅 All events on October 30 438 events 📖 All events in 1985 🏷 More Historical Events events
0

Comments 0

Sign in to join the discussion.