The Challenger seen against the backdrop of blue water and white clouds in this photo taken from a camera aboard the Shuttle Pallet Satellite.

The Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger was named after the British Naval research vessel HMS Challenger that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870s.

The Challenger was launched on her maiden voyage, on April 4, 1983. That mission saw the first spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program.