Soccer ball ‘survived’ Challenger, now in space Finally reached its goal

A soccer ball that was aboard the Challenger space shuttle when it exploded in 1986 — and was surprisingly found intact amid the wreckage — has finally made its way into space.

The miracle ball was launched into orbit last week, just days after the tragedy’s 31st anniversary. It belonged to NASA astronaut Ellison Onizuka and had been signed by the Clear Lake High School boys and girls soccer teams in Houston, of which his daughter was a member.

“This ball was on Challenger that fateful day,” astronaut Shane Kimbrough tweeted, with a picture of the black-and-white soccer ball floating outside the International Space Station.

“Flown by Ellison Onizuka for his daughter, a soccer player,” he said.

Challenger broke apart and exploded into pieces on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after launch.

Onizuka (above, circled) had been making his second flight as a mission specialist when one of the booster engines malfunctioned, following the failure of an O-ring that was compromised by cold weather.

He lost his life that day, along with commander Dick Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, mission specialists Ron McNair and Judy Resnik, payload specialist Gregory Jarvis and Teacher-in-Space Christa McAuliffe.

Kimbrough, who is commander of the ISS’s Expedition 50 crew, went on to reference Clear Lake High School in his tweet, adding the hashtag #NASARemembers.

Like Onizuka’s daughter in 1986, his son is currently a junior at the school and also plays sports.

“The soccer ball in many ways has continued the mission my father embarked upon so many years ago,” Onizuka’s daughter, Janelle Onizuka-Gillian, said in a statement released by CLHS.

“It has continued to travel and explore space, while inspiring so many through its history,” she said.

After Challenger broke apart, Onizuka’s soccer ball was recovered among the wreckage that fell into the ocean. Several other items that belonged to him were also found floating in the water, including a football and an American flag.

The soccer ball was eventually brought to CLHS, where it remained until being launched into orbit.

“Thank you Shane Kimbrough for helping a piece of CLHS Falcon history complete its mission in space!” the school tweeted Friday.

I MADE IT! A soccer ball that was recovered from the wreckage of the Challenger, whose crew (left) all died in the shuttle’s 1986 explosion, floats above Earth inside the International Space Station.