What Went Wrong?Ī presidential commission led by former attorney general William P. ![]() “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted it belongs to the brave.” “Sometimes when we reach for the stars, we fall short, but we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain”, said President Reagan in his famous speech. While the fate of the crew during free fall is unknown, impact with the ocean certainly sealed their fate.Ī memorial service was held in Houston on January 31, 1986. The investigation discovered a disturbing detail: at least three astronauts were alive right after the blast, as three Personal Egress Air Packs were recovered activated. Crew compartment, on the other hand, remained intact and fell, reaching a speed of about 333 km/h at the time of impact with sea. The Orbiter did not explode: it was torn apart by abnormal aerodynamic forces. The dome of liquid hydrogen failed and crashed into the liquid oxygen tank, causing a release of fuel that conflagrated. This plume, acting as a blowtorch, pierced a hole in the wall of the External Tank. The disintegration began with the failure of an O-ring seal in the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) that let a plume of hot gases break through. Although the Shuttle successfully made it through Max Q point, it was later found that this phase played an important role in the disaster.Īt 73 seconds Challenger broke apart over Atlantic Ocean. The flight director ordered to slow down the engines to keep aerodynamic forces within safe limits. On Its Way To DisasterĪbout 58 seconds into the flight, Challenger entered into its Max-Q, a point where the aerodynamic forces on the vehicle are at their maximum. The crowd was amused with the launch none of them anticipated that challenger was on its way to a fateful journey.Ĭhrista McAulliffe, pictured here while training on the “Vomit Comet.” Her death following the Challenger disaster shocked the American public, who had fallen in love with her manners and composure. Lift-off and re-entry are the most critical phases in a Space Shuttle’s flight, and challenger successfully passed through the first one. Right after lift-off, at 11:38 AM (EST) none of the flight parameter indicated any trouble with the vehicle. In the two and half years since its debut, Challenger had transported 51 astronauts in nine trouble-free flights. Delayed several times due to technical problems and bad weather, it finally took place on its 7th attempt. ![]() The launch was originally planned for January 20 th, 1986. This initiative was intended to inspire students and to sustain public interest in the over-budgeted shuttle program. McAulliffe was a teacher selected out of 11000 applicants under a new program called the Teacher in Space Project. Among the crew there was Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian astronaut. A Unique MissionĬhallenger’s fateful mission – flight number STS-51-L – was a unique mission. At 58.778 seconds into powered flight, a large flame plume is visible just above the SRB exhaust nozzle indicating a breach in the motor casing.
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