Newspaper Confuses Atlantis With Doomed Challenger Space Shuttle In Tweet

Newspaper Confuses 'Atlantis' With Doomed 'Challenger' Space Shuttle

The Atlantis space shuttle blasted into space Friday in a historic launch that marked the final flight of NASA's 30-year space program.

Yet just moments after Atlantis' launch, the Philadelphia Inquirer made a remarkable flub in one of its tweets, confusing Atlantis with another of NASA's space shuttle: Challenger, the doomed shuttle that exploded on January 28, 1986 just 73 seconds into its flight.

The tweet, which has since been deleted, read, "The Challenger has lifted off for the last mission by an U.S. space shuttle" (See below).

Scores of users retweeted the post and chided the newspaper for its mistake, tweeting "Check your facts!" and "I believe this is what kids today call a 'FAIL'".

For more on the launch, check out our slideshow of breathtaking images of Atlantis' blast, the most iconic photos of the shuttle, and highlights from NASA's 30-year shuttle program.

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