Soccer Ball That Survived Challenger Explosion Finally Made It To Space

31 years ago, Col. Ellison Onizuka boarded the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle with a special gift; a soccer ball signed by members of the boys and girls soccer teams from Clear Lake High School in Houston. Somehow, the soccer ball managed to survive the explosion and was recovered with other debris in the ocean.

On Friday (February 3) astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who also has a child in Clear Lake High School, posted a photo of the soccer ball floating in space outside the window of the International Space Station. It took 31 years for the soccer ball to make it to space, and it was worth the wait. 

Photo: Twitter