The wreckage of the space shuttle Challenger in the Atlantic

Divers have found a large piece of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded when it launched off the Florida coast in 1986. It’s the largest piece recovered in years, measuring at least 4.5 x 4.5 meters, according to NASA. More can be hidden under the sand.

The wreckage, possibly part of the space shuttle’s fuselage, was found in March by documentarians searching for a lost WWII aircraft. They hired NASA because this piece is more modern and has the signature tiles of a space shuttle. It now confirms that the piece belongs to Challenger. It is the largest fragment found since parts of the left flank landed in 1996.

“My heart skipped. I was right about everything we went through as a nation in 1986,” said Michael Ciannilli, NASA Director, who helped confirm the discovery. “All the emotions came back.”

Here is a summary of the Challenger disaster:

Seven crew members were killed when the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. As she was the first civilian to fly, teacher Christa McAullife, many schoolchildren watched the disaster live on television. He and six other crew members were killed, she.

More than 100 tons of debris were removed from the ocean, about half of the spacecraft. The material was stored in an abandoned missile silo at the Cape Canaveral launch site. Only a plaque from the Space Shuttle is on display, along with a window from Columbia at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center. This shuttle sank on its way back to Earth in 2003, killing all seven people on board.

The documentary about the wreck’s discovery will air on the History Channel on November 22. NASA is still checking to see if the find can be recovered. The space agency emphasizes that parts of the crashed spacecraft remain the property of the US government.