Brevard-based photographer Bruce Weaver, known for his iconic image of the Space Shuttle Challenger’s catastrophic breakup in a fiery plume after liftoff, has passed away at the age of 77. The North Brevard Funeral Home confirmed his peaceful passing in Titusville, Florida, with his wife and family at his side.
Weaver, who worked as a freelance photographer for The Associated Press, was one of numerous eyewitnesses at the Kennedy Space Center when the Challenger took off on January 28, 1986, carrying New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe and six other astronauts. Tragically, just 73 seconds after liftoff, the shuttle disintegrated, claiming the lives of all seven crew members. The disaster was attributed to damaged O-ring seals in the right booster, exacerbated by the exceptionally cold conditions of the launch.
