Space Shuttle Challenger: 27 years later

[PAUL SS]

If there was not a school teacher on board and the President was not giving his State of the Union address that night Challenger would have never left the ground. The builder of the solid rocket boosters did not approve launch,(but was finally forced to). It was too cold and there was ice all over the launch pad. A needless tragedy which could have been prevented.

[MikeSVX]

Originally Posted by fastfreddie

I remember that day clearly. I was laid off of work setting at home watching it live on TV. When it exploded I instantly got this sick feeling. The announcers went silent. I said to myself, I can't believe what I'm seeing unfold. What a tragedy.

The Challenger and 911 tragedies.....both I watched unfold and will never forget...

I watched the 9/11 events as they unfolded too. I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing throughout the event.

I was on our ship in port (in Baltimore). A contractor that was working on our engines came on board from a break and told us to turn on the TV, anny channel. I was standing on the mess deck when the second plane hit, watching it live. I was still on the mess deck when one of our reservist that works at the smithsonian in DC called to ask what was going on and tell use there was a crash in DC (even before it hit the news). When the first tower fell I was at the base communication senter to check for any message traffic. We were told to bump up or security status and stand by. Our CO told the contractors to put the engines back together. The contractor sent his people with kids home to get them and the remaining poeple along with our engineers had the engines up and ready 2 hours later. The next morning we were in the middle of Baltimore harbor insuring that nothing was moving.

[AZCamaroFan]

Originally Posted by 2010SS2SS

Both failed Shuttle missions could have been stopped because NASA and the Government knew of the safety issues. NASA sent those brave astronauts to their deaths instead of delaying the flights to repair the issues

especially the Challenger disaster. With Columbia over 100 missions had flown without that foam causing that kind of problem.

[bluetooth-ss]

Doesn't seem that long already.I remember the miserable cold that day.We were stuck at my sisters place in Lakeland because the headgasket blew on my dad's Buick.We were watching on tv and by the time we got outside there was nothing left but the cloud.

[Toasty]

Originally Posted by fastfreddie

I remember that day clearly. I was laid off of work setting at home watching it live on TV. When it exploded I instantly got this sick feeling. The announcers went silent. I said to myself, I can't believe what I'm seeing unfold. What a tragedy.

The Challenger and 911 tragedies.....both I watched unfold and will never forget...

You're making me feel awful young, there buddy. I was in kindergarten when it happened. Saw some of the news on the TV in the library of the school

[Overflow]

January 28th, 1986.

Space Shuttle Challenger sits on Launch Pad 39B for STS-51-L. This is the 25th planned Space Shuttle mission, and Challenger's 10th planned mission.



On board Challenger isCommander Francis Scobee, Pilot Michael Smith, Mission Specialist 1 Ellison Onizuka, Mission Specialist 2 Judith Resnik, Mission Specialist 3 Ronald McNair, and Payload Specialist 1 Gregory Jarvis. Also on board is the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.




To the worldwide public, this is the day America will have it's first in-flight tragedy. To the people who worked on the shuttle and shuttle enthusiasts, this is known as the day the Space Shuttle Program lost its innocence.








Here we'll go and recap exactly what went wrong on this dark day in history, what resulted, and where the fallen Space Shuttle Challenger is today.


Launch day:

The crew starts off the day eating the traditional astronaut breakfast.







After their breakfast, the crew heads out to Launch Pad 39B, where the mighty Space Shuttle Challenger waits.










However, the launch control team first notices a problem with the entire launch pad.. ice.
















The astronauts arrive at Launch Pad 39B at 8:03 am EST. A launch pad technician, who the other day had worn a mortarboard in honor of the “Teacher in Space”, today handed her a red apple. Thanking him, Christa McAuliffe asked him to save it for her. “I’ll eat it when I get back.”

A launch pad technician, who the other day had worn a mortarboard in honor of the “Teacher in Space”, today handed her a red apple. Thanking him, Christa McAuliffe asked him to save it for her. “I’ll eat it when I get back.”









Launch







































Mission Control Houston now gives the "Go at throttle up" command to Space Shuttle Challenger. After this, the last words ever heard from the Challenger crew was heard. Commander Scobee says, "Uh-Oh".
























And at that very moment in time, STS-51-L was ended. Not completed, demolished. All crew members perish, and the Space Shuttle Challenger is lost.

Now we'll take a closer look to see exactly what went wrong.




Due to the freezing temperatures in Florida, an O-Ring on the right SRB failed. Evidence of this failure was later seen in photographs.




By this time, it was already too late. Challenger was going, and it was going fast.

Fast forward to the Throttle Up call.

At this time, flames is seen escaping from the failed O-Ring.



The flames will later reach the ET, which holds all the fuel for the Space Shuttle's main engines.



















Next came the many week of searching for the wreckage and bodies. I will now show you pictures of that. Most of which are very hard to find nowadays.





























Now a common question a lot of us get from people is, "Where is Challenger now?"

Fortunately, Space Shuttle Challenger is still in Florida. Unfortunately, it's not where most of us want it to be.

Space Shuttle Challenger is buried in an abandoned missile silo at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.








NASA had refused to show pictures of the crew compartment until 1993. This is what was revealed.






11 years after the Challenger Disaster..

"December 17, 1996: Two pieces of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which exploded nearly 11 years ago, were found by beachgoers Tuesday morning, officials at the Kennedy Space Center said. The parts -- a 6- by 15-foot rectangular section and a 4- by 8-foot section -- may be part of the ruddertail, wing, or body flap sections of the space shuttle, according to NASA spokesman Lisa Malone. The parts were found covered with barnacles in about 3 feet of water."

This structure is an elevon from the wing of Space Shuttle Challenger.










No matter how many years pass, the world will never forget the tragedy and sacrifices Space Shuttle Challenger and her crew made on their final mission, STS-51-L.

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by AZCamaroFan

especially the Challenger disaster. With Columbia over 100 missions had flown without that foam causing that kind of problem.

That's incorrect.

[newagemuscle]

Wow... i was in 6th grade. I still remember my teacher telling us like it was yesterday.

[AZCamaroFan]

Originally Posted by Overflow

That's incorrect.

yeah it had come off, that's right. hadn't punched a whole in the wing.

[driyac]

I wasn't even a sperm in 1986.... However I did grow up and learn about this disaster and tragedy.

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by AZCamaroFan

yeah it had come off, that's right. hadn't punched a whole in the wing.

Yeah, it caused A LOT of damage on Atlantis on STS-27, which was Atlantis' first mission after losing Challenger.

[MMC]

I had never seen the photo of the SRB with black smoke escaping right on the pad. There is no turning back once they light off. I remember watching the launch that day working "B" shift and getting up to see it happen, I also rember watching the first launch after at work and everyone cheering once the SRB's seperated from the shuttle.

[f5journal]

:flag2:Thank you

[heRS]

I watched it on television at my sisters' house as it was happening. Tragic stuff, hard to believe it's been 27 years.