Photographer who captured horrifying images of Challenger breaking apart after launch has died

TITUSVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Bruce Weaver, a Florida-based photographer who captured a definitive image of space shuttle Challenger breaking apart into plumes of smoke and fire after liftoff, has died. He was 77. A statement released by the North Brevard Funeral Home says Weaver died in his sleep Friday. He was living in Titusville, Florida. Working as a freelance photographer for The Associated Press, Weaver was on the ground at the Kennedy Space Center when Challenger lifted off from the launch pad carrying aboard New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe and six other astronauts on Jan. 28, 1986. The space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds later, killing all seven crew members.