At seventy-two seconds, the tank lost its structural integrity and tore apart, crumpling and disgorging the remaining liquid hydrogen—more than 300,000 gallons of it—which bloomed into a colossal fireball. Released from its aft anchors, the right-hand booster swiveled around its upper attachment point. Its nose smashed into the right wing of Challenger, and the liquid oxygen tank, tearing it open.
