Chilling discovery revealed astronauts' harrowing final moments before dying

 As the final countdown ticked away before Space Shuttle Challenger's launch on January 28, 1986, tens of millions of Americans were riveted to their television screens.

A rocket launch was already a momentous occasion, but this particular mission carried an extraordinary passenger — Christa McAuliffe. The 37-year-old was set to become the first educator in space, having been chosen from a pool of more than 11,000 applicants for the NASA program. Some have made eerie comparisons to the Artemis II mission that had two fear-inducing issues.

Yet just 73 seconds into its flight, Challenger erupted into a massive fireball, claiming the lives of all seven crew members aboard. The space shuttle appeared to have blown apart, with those who had dreamed of reaching the stars seemingly perishing in an instant. It comes after we revealed another set of astronauts' chilling final words before they were burned alive due to a sickening problem.

However, 40 years on from the catastrophe, deeply unsettling evidence has surfaced suggesting those aboard Challenger were not killed immediately and may have remained alive for several agonizing seconds, reports the Mirror, reports the Express US.

Everything appeared to be proceeding flawlessly on launch day — Commander Francis Scobee had uttered the now chilling words "go throttle up" and the mission looked destined for success.

Yet just three seconds later, mission control picked up another voice. Pilot Michael Smith simply said "uh oh" before all electronic communication with the spacecraft was abruptly severed.

Powerless, those on the ground could only crane their necks skyward and watch in absolute horror as events tragically unfolded before them.

At first glance, it appeared that a catastrophic explosion had torn the rocket apart, but six months after the devastating flight, Dr. Joseph Kerwin, director of Life Sciences at the Johnson Space Center, released his findings on what actually caused the Challenger astronauts' deaths.

The crew module was recovered approximately 18 miles from the launch site in roughly 100 feet of water.

Although a detailed account of what happened to their bodies has never been made public, the condition of the module was extensively examined.

Shockingly, Dr. Kerwin's report indicated that the force of the blast was insufficient to kill or even seriously injure those aboard.

He ultimately concluded that the precise cause of death for those on the Space Shuttle Challenger remained inconclusive.

NASA has maintained throughout that all seven crew members perished instantly in the explosion.

Challenger had broken apart upon reaching 48,000 feet above the earth's surface, yet continued to climb for another 25 seconds before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite appearances suggesting an explosion, the space shuttle was actually consumed by flames shortly after liftoff when a booster seal designed to prevent fuel tank leaks deteriorated and gave way.

The extreme heat caused the fuel tank to buckle and rupture, unleashing a massive fireball that ripped through sections of Challenger.

For a brief period, the shuttle remained intact and continued ascending until the tremendous atmospheric pressure tore the spacecraft apart, sending it hurtling back toward earth. Every astronaut on board the space shuttle was fitted with a personal air pack, providing several minutes of oxygen for use in emergency situations.

Reports suggest that evidence indicates a number of these had been manually activated, as each one required hands-on operation to engage.

When the wreckage was recovered, three of the air packs had been switched on.

Dr. Kerwin suggested it was plausible that a sudden depressurization of the cabin could have rendered all seven crew members unconscious, meaning they may have been spared the awareness of their tragic fate.

However, he also pointed out that a catastrophic pressure loss would have destroyed the middeck floor of the space shuttle — something that had not taken place.

Had the pressure dropped more gradually, the entire crew would have remained fully conscious and acutely aware of their impending doom during the final 25 seconds of their lives.