The Challenger Disaster | 25 Years Ago The Challenger Disaster On January 28, 1986 the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off and killed seven astronauts. It was the 25th shuttle launch since NASA started service in 1981. For the first time a teacher was a member of the crew. Christa McAuliffe had won a contest against thousands of other teachers. The explosion took place 73 seconds after liftoff. Investigators found out that the accident was caused by rubber rings that became smaller because of the cold weather. These rings were supposed to separate parts of the rocket as it travelled into space. Gas and flames leaked out and created a fire around the spacecraft. The crew probably did not die immediately but were not able to survive the impact in the ocean. Thousands of people watched on the ground at Cape Canaveral and millions more watched the disaster happen on television . However, space flights were becoming routine during the 1980s. They turned into everyday events that the public did not care about any more. People thought NASA was perfect and nothing could happen. The Challenger blows up 73 seconds after launch The Challenger disaster was the first time that America had lost astronauts during a flight.

In January 1967 three American astronauts were killed in Apollo 1 during a ground test. After America had lost one of its three space shuttles all missions were canceled and President Ronald Reagan appointed a committee to look into the disaster. In the following years NASA started to redesign its rockets. Major changes and improvements were made on the shuttle. In 1988 it took off again. NASA had begun building space shuttles in the 1970s. They wanted to create a spacecraft that could transport cargo into space and be used over and over again. The first shuttle, Columbia was launched in 1981. Three other shuttles, Challenger, Atlantis and Discovery followed. In 1991 the Endeavour replaced the Challenger as the fourth shuttle. In 2003, disaster struck another space shuttle. Seven astronauts were killed on board the Columbia when it disintegrated over Texas. The days of the space shuttle are over. The last mission will take place in 2011 . In the past few years NASA has helped build a space station in orbit and currently there are plans for a return to the moon and a manned Mars mission.

Cape Canaveral = place in Florida where American space missions lift off cargo = freight, not passengers caused = what made something happen committee = group of people disintegrate = break up, fall to pieces explode = blow up flame = hot , bright burning gas that you see when something is one fire however = but improvement = changes that make something work better investigate = to look into, examine to see what had happened launch = start into space leak out = a small hole, that lets something escape into the open lift-off = take-off manned = with people on board mission = flight orbit = a curved path around an object public = the people replace = to take the place of routine = usual, everyday service = here: to send the space shuttle into space spacecraft = spaceship supposed to = thought to, believed to survive = to live on after a dangerous situation take-off = start Challenger: Shuttle Disaster That Changed NASA Challenger: Shuttle Disaster That Changed NASA By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | October 16, 2012 01:21pm ET MORE The space shuttle Challenger was one of NASA's greatest triumphs. It was the second shuttle to reach space, in April 1983. It successfully completed nine milestone missions.

But Challenger was also NASA's darkest tragedy. On its 10th launch, on Jan. 28, 1986, the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing the seven crewmembers. The accident changed the space program forever. This full view of Challenger in space was taken by a satellite. A heavily cloud-covered portion of the Earth forms the backdrop for this scene of Challenger in orbit. This image was taken during Challenger's STS-7 mission, which launched on June 18, 1983. Credit: NASA From test vehicle to space vehicle NASA originally intended Challenger to be a test vehicle. Rockwell began building the shuttle in November 1975 and then sent it to Lockheed for structural testing starting on April 2, 1978. According to NASA, computer models at the time were not sophisticated enough to calculate the stresses on the shuttle during different phases of flight. The shuttle, then known as STA-099, went through 11 months of vibration testing in a specially formulated rig. This custom-designed machine could bring the shuttle through a simulation of all phases of flight, from liftoff to landing.

Three hydraulic cylinders, each with one million pounds of force, were used as substitute space shuttle main engines. In 1979, NASA awarded Rockwell a supplemental contract to convert the test vehicle to a spacecraft. This would expand the shuttle fleet to two spacecraft, the first one being Columbia . It took two more years for Rockwell to perform the conversion. Among other things, workers had to strengthen the wings, put in a real crew cabin instead of a simulated one, and install heads-up displays for the astronauts working inside. Work completed on Oct. 23, 1981. Delays for the first flight Challenger was expected to go into space on Jan. 20, 1983, to release the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite , which later became part of a series of satellites that astronauts used to stay in touch with controllers back home. Several technical malfunctions pushed the launch back, though. First, NASA discovered a hydrogen leak in the No. 1 main engine aft compartment during a flight readiness test in December. In a second test on Jan. 25, 1983, NASA discovered cracks in the engine that were causing the leak. The agency then took several months to remove the engines and test them.

While engines two and three were deemed healthy, NASA replaced Engine No. 1. A view of the shuttle Challenger's maiden STS-6 launch on April 4, 1983. In this view, Challenger is just clearing the launch pad in a cloud of smoke. Credit: NASA After another delay due to a problem with TDRS, Challenger launched successfully on April 4, 1983, on mission STS-6. Crew members set the satellite free; astronauts Story Musgrave and Donald Peterson also did the first spacewalk of the shuttle program. Cultural and technical firsts Besides the milestones in space technology, Challenger also was the vehicle by which several cultural firsts happened in the space shuttle program. The first American female astronaut, Sally Ride , rode up on Challenger on STS-7 in June 1983. The first African-American , Guion Bluford, reached space on STS-8. On STS-41G in 1984, two women — Ride and Kathryn Sullivan — flew on one mission for the first time – as well as the first Canadian, Marc Garneau.

Other milestones Challenger marked included the first night launch and landing (STS-8) and the first operational Spacelab flight (STS-51B). Spacelab was a European space laboratory that fit into a shuttle's cargo bay and included several experiments designed for tests in microgravity. It flew on Columbia on STS-9 for the first time, but Challenger's mission is considered the first working one. The flying repairman Some of Challenger's most memorable moments took place in April 1984, on STS-41C. That mission featured the very first astronaut repair of a satellite. To get at the nonfunctional Solar Maximum Mission satellite, astronaut George Nelson strapped himself into the Manned Maneuvering Unit , which was a jet-powered backpack designed for astronauts to fly in space. It had only been tested on one mission before this one. Challenger moved in space until it was only 200 feet from the satellite. Then, Nelson carefully left the safety of the shuttle and flew over to the satellite. A "fixture" on the front of his backpack let Nelson dock with the satellite, which was slowly tumbling in space. Next, he fired the jets on his backpack to stop the satellite's spin.

Crew members on Challenger then maneuvered the space shuttle close to the satellite, reached out with the Canadarm robotic arm, and plucked the satellite out of empty space and into the payload bay. Nelson and crewmate James "Ox" Van Hoften repaired the satellite together, then the crew lofted the satellite back into space. SMM continued functioning for several years, then burned up in the atmosphere in December 1989. Challenger disaster It was a cold morning on Jan. 28, 1986, when Challenger was supposed to fly into space. Temperatures dipped below freezing. There were certain people at NASA and among contractors that worried about the integrity of the seals on the solid rocket boosters in cold weather. At 78 seconds after liftoff, this image shows Challenger's left wing, main engines (still burning residual propellant) and the forward fuselage (crew cabin). Credit: NASA Challenger launched at 11:38 a.m. Eastern time in front of more media attention than usual, as it was carrying the first teacher to go in space. Christa McAuliffe was planning to give lessons while in orbit. She and the rest of the crew never made it.

Challenger broke up 73 seconds after launch in front of the television cameras. "Flight controllers here are looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction," the NASA launch commentator said as pieces of the shuttle fell from the sky into the Atlantic. Salvage crews spent several weeks recovering pieces of the shuttle and carefully, bringing up the remains of the seven astronauts. Remains that could be identified were turned over to the families, while the rest were buried in a monument to the Challenger crew at Arlington Cemetery on May 20, 1986. Cultural and technical problems A presidential commission was convened to look into the incident, chaired by former attorney general and secretary of state William P. Rogers. It included participation from Neil Armstrong (the first man on the moon) and NASA astronaut Sally Ride, among others. The commission talked about the technical causes of the accident , which was traced to cold weather degrading the seal on the boosters. Additionally, it brought to light cultural problems at NASA, such as failing to voice all problems to the launch decision team. The commission also said that the shuttle's proposed flight rate was unsustainable given the size of its workforce.

NASA made technical changes to the shuttle and also worked to change the culture of its workforce in the wake of what happened with Challenger. The shuttle program resumed flights in 1988. After the Challenger wreckage was examined, the pieces were buried and sealed in abandoned Minuteman missile silos at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where they remain today. Challenger's explosion changed the space shuttle program in several ways. Plans to fly other civilians in space (such as journalists) were shelved for 22 years, until Barbara Morgan , who was McAuliffe's backup, flew aboard Endeavour in 2007. Satellite launches were shifted from the shuttle to reusable rockets. Additionally, astronauts were pulled off of duties such as repairing satellites, and the Manned Maneuvering Unit was not flown again, to better preserve their safety. Every January, NASA pauses to remember the last crew of Challenger, and the other crews lost in pursuing space, on a NASA Day of Remembrance . Additionally, Challenger has an educational legacy: members of the crews' families founded the Challenger Center for Space Science Education program, which brings students on simulated space missions. On Jan.

28, 1986, NASA faced its first shuttle disaster, the loss of the Challenger orbiter and its seven-astronaut crew. Here, Challenger's last crew – members of the STS-51L mission – stand in the White Room at Pad 39B following the end of a launch dress rehearsal. They are (L to R) Teacher in Space Participant, Sharon "Christa" McAuliffe, Payload Specialist, Gregory Jarvis, Mission Specialist, Judy Resnik, Commander Dick Scobee. Mission Specialist, Ronald McNair, Pilot, Michael Smith and Mission Specialist, Ellison Onizuka. Credit: NASA Challenger Disaster Live on CNN - YouTube Challenger Disaster Live on CNN Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jul 24, 2007 January 28th, 1986 at 11:39am EDT - The Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes on its 10th flight during mission STS-51-L.

The explosion occurred 73 seconds after liftoff and was actually the result of rapid deceleration and not combustion of fuel. CNN was the only national news station to broadcast the mission live, so thus what you are witnessing on this video is the only coverage of the disaster as it happened when it did. Approximately 17% of Americans witnessed the launch live, while 85% of Americans heard of the news within 1 hour of the event. According to a study, only 2 other times in history up to that point had news of an event disseminated so fast - the first being the announcement of JFK's assassination in 1963, the second being news spread among students at Kent State regarding the news of FDR's death in 1945. It has been estimated at the time that nearly 48% of 9-13 year olds witnessed the event in their classrooms, as McAuliffe was in the spotlight. The 25th Space Shuttle mission altered the history of manned space exploration and represented the first loss of an American crew during a space mission (Apollo 1 was during a training exercise).

Christa McAuliffe was slated to be the first teacher in space for the Teacher in Space Program. As her maximum altitude was ~65,000ft (12.31 miles), she never made it to space. That title was given to Barbara Morgan of STS-118 aboard the shuttle Endeavour in August 2007, 22 and a half years after the Challenger Disaster. Morgan served as McAuliffe's backup during STS-51-L. As Morgan is now part of the Educator in Space Program, she will be credited as the first "educator" in space, to distinguish her from McAuliffe. Aboard Challenger during STS-51-L: Sharon Christa McAuliffe (Payload Specialist - Teacher in Space) Category Challenger tragedy a vivid touchstone 30 years later FacebookEmail Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Challenger tragedy a vivid touchstone 30 years later On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven astronauts aboard. Post to Facebook Challenger tragedy a vivid touchstone 30 years later On Jan.

28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven astronauts aboard. Check out this story on tallahassee.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 1 Activate your digital access. Challenger tragedy a vivid touchstone 30 years later Gerald Ensley , Democrat senior writer Published 1:32 p.m. ET Jan. 27, 2016 | Updated 12:13 p.m. ET Jan. 28, 2016 CLOSE x Share The memory of the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle remains vivid and a touchstone 30 years after the tragedy on Jan. 28, 1986. Gerald Ensley/Special to the Democrat Buy Photo Bobby Watt, second from left, oversees recording of his song, “Oh, Challenger,” which Watt wrote just hours after the space shuttle Challenger exploded and killed its seven astronauts on Jan. 28, 1986. To the right of Watt is Butch Trucks, the Allman Brothers Band drummer who produced the record.

Musicians, clockwise from far right: David Murphy (bass), Jon Prescott (keyboard) and Steve Taft (guitar). (Photo: Democrat files)Buy Photo 67 CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN 1 COMMENTEMAILMORE On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The nationally televised tragic accident stunned America. Manned space travel had become so common — there had been more than 20 U.S. space shuttle flights in the previous five years — that people took its safety for granted. In addition, the Challenger crew included Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old school teacher from New Hampshire, who had been chosen from hundreds of applicants as the first U.S. teacher astronaut. Thus the tragedy, which precipitated a 32-month hiatus in shuttle flights, became a national touchstone. It became one of those moments of American history, like the Kennedy assassination before it and the Sept. 11 attacks after it, in which people remembered forever where they were when they witnessed or heard about it.

On today’s 30th anniversary of the Challenger explosion, the Tallahassee Democrat shares the memories of several local residents about that day. Bobby Watt: “Oh Challenger.” Musicians tend to be socially conscious, said Valerie Johns. So when a community needs help, they try to find a way to put their musical talents to use. That’s why Tallahassee singer-songwriter Bobby Watt wrote a song, “Oh Challenger,” within hours after the Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. “He just wanted to pay tribute to those brave men and women,” Johns said. “It’s a beautiful song.” Watt died in 2000, at 51, from a hereditary vascular condition; his widow, Sherry, and daughter, Katie, still live in Tallahassee. A native of Nebraska, Watt moved to Tallahassee in the mid-1970s and became a fixture on the nightclub scene, playing regular gigs at two hotels then known as the round Holiday Inn and Capital Inn. Watt’s music often reflected current events. In 1975, he played at rallies and wrote two songs in support of saving the Old Capitol.

In 1986, he followed up “Oh, Challenger,” with “Seven Dolphins,” about the seven dolphins that rose up from the Gulf of Mexico when memorial wreaths were laid on the waters where the seven astronauts plunged. Watt wrote “Oh Challenger” before nightfall after the explosion. He asked backup singers Johns, Lori Danello Roberts and Kathy Vanderbeck, plus musicians Steve Taft, David Murphy and Jon Prescott to join him in the studio the next day. The song was produced by Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, who lived in Tallahassee at the time. CLOSE x Share Tallahassee singer songwriter Bobby Watt wrote a song in tribute to the astronauts of the Challenger space shuttle within hours of its explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. Courtesy family of Bobby Watt Watt pledged profits from the song to a Challenger scholarship fund, established by then-Gov. Bob Graham, and hoped the song would attract national attention. Johns said the song did not take off as well as Watt hoped and she’s unsure how much it raised for the scholarship fund. But the song changed her life.

The Challenger explosion occurred on the birthday of her father, a state Department of Education music education official Fred Vorce, who had died two years before. Johns, 56, stayed home from FSU classes that day, “feeling sorry for myself.” After Watt called about recording his song, Johns and her singing partners met with him at the Capital Inn. Watt introduced Johns to a friend and fellow musician, Dan Johns. Within two weeks, the two were inseparable. Dan and Valerie Johns now have been married 28 years and have two adult daughters, who often sing in a trio with their mother. “Bobby was just a fantastic human being, friendly to everyone and always doing his best to help,” Johns said. “(That day) turned my whole life around.” Michelle Personette: Unforgettable moment to dream job (Photo: Gerald Ensley) Michelle Personette was in third grade at Pelican Elementary in Cape Coral the day of the Challenger Space Shuttle flight — and ironically was the only kid in her class to watch the tragic explosion live on television.

It was ironic because since 2005, Personette has been director of Tallahassee’s Challenger Learning Center, one of more than 40 Challenger space science centers around the nation established in memory of the Challenger shuttle. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d (have this job),” said Personette, 38. “How cool is it that 30 years later, these pioneers of space exploration are still making a difference with kids who weren’t even born then. What a legacy.” Michelle Personette, left, executive director of Tallahassee’s Challenger Center, floats in zero gravity during a 2008 sub-orbital flight. (Photo: Courtesy Tallahassee Challenger Learning Center) Personette did not feel well that morning of Jan. 28, 1986. So when the rest of her class went to lunch in the cafeteria, her teacher, Mrs. Diane Darab, let her stay in the classroom and watch the shuttle launch on a big tube TV Darab wheeled into the classroom. “I remember (Mrs. Darab) telling me, ‘You know there is a teacher up there,’ “ Personette said.

“Seventy-three seconds later, there was an explosion. I didn’t know what it meant. But I looked at her, and there were tears in her eyes.” Mrs. Darab and Personette hurried to the teachers’ lounge, where all the teachers were crying. All the teachers then gathered in the cafeteria with the students and explained what had happened. “It was really relevant to them because they saw a little part of themselves in (Christa McAuliffe),” Personette said. Linda Edson: “Mom, don’t you ever do that again.” (Photo: Gerald Ensley) Certainly, the Challenger flight is relevant to Linda Edson. Edson, then a fourth-grade teacher at Killearn Lakes Elementary, was one of six Leon County teachers who had applied to be the first teacher in space. Though that spot went to McAuliffe, Edson, who spent nearly 40 years as a Leon County teacher, was excited about the Challenger flight. “Hundreds of teachers had applied, and we were all excited a teacher was going up,” said Edson, 67, a lobbyist for the Florida Retired Teachers.

“I was very excited about watching it and telling my kids, ‘That should have been me up there.’ “ But Edson missed the lift-off. That Tuesday in 1986 was a Leon County teacher planning day. Edson and several fellow teachers were having lunch at a local restaurant when the shuttle broke apart at 11:39 a.m. When they got back to school, they learned of the tragic explosion. “We were shocked and stressed,” she said. “Everyone was thinking of (McAuliffe); she could have been anyone’s teacher. It hit home to a lot of us.” It also hit home to Edson’s two sons, Brent and Scott, then 12 and 7. When she called them from school, they were upset after watching the explosion on television. “They told me, ‘Don’t you ever put yourself in danger like that again,’ “ Edson said. “It was a real role reversal.” Barbara McHaffie: “Whoa, that’s not supposed to happen.” (Photo: Gerald Ensley) Barbara McHaffie was a resource teacher at Spook Hill Elementary School in Lake Wales on Jan.

28, 1986 — which put her close enough to Cape Canaveral to see the shuttle rising into the sky. McHaffie had a planning period right before lunch. So with no children in her class, she watched the lift-off begin on television, then raced outside to watch the flight. On a chilly, clear morning, she had a perfect view as the shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff. “I thought, ‘Whoa, that’s not supposed to happen,’ “ recalled McHaffie. “It was crazy, it was not pretty.” McHaffie, 63, moved to Tallahassee 25 years ago. She taught kindergarten at Kate Sullivan until retiring last May. Though she shared the empathy of all teachers with McAuliffe (“That was one of our own”), it was being an eyewitness to tragedy that stuck with her. “A lot of things in history hit home,” she said. “But I think (the explosion) was more meaningful to me because I saw it happen, not watched it on TV.” Jermaine Williams: “Something you never forget.” (Photo: Gerald Ensley) Jermaine Williams was a sixth-grader at BelleVue Middle School that day.

Because it was a teacher planning day, he was home watching the shuttle flight on television. He was interested in the Challenger because the astronauts included McAuliffe — and a black astronaut, Ron McNair, who was to become the second African American in space. “It was a big deal for me about the black guy,” said Williams, 42, an African American and graduate program adviser at the FSU College of Business. “It was pretty interesting (to have a black astronaut) because you didn’t see much of that.” The explosion occurred on live TV, just a minute after liftoff: “I remember being completely shocked and watching the debris fall,” Williams said. The next day in school, the explosion was the talk of students and teachers. In hindsight, Williams thinks everyone was shocked because space travel had become commonplace — an assumption rocked by the Challenger explosion and in 2003 by the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia upon re-entry, killing another seven astronauts. “(The Challenger explosion) is just one of those things you never forget,” Williams said. “I think the (explosion) was the last thing you expected to see; you figured it was safe (to go into space).

Later, every time you talked about going into space, you talked about the Challenger and the Columbia and wondered if it could happen again.” Sally Karioth: Make the children feel safe. (Photo: Gerald Ensley) Florida State professor Sally Karioth, a grief and trauma expert, broadcast a local two-hour, call-in radio show twice a week in 1985-1987. On the day of the Challenger flight, her topic was children and space flight, with an emphasis on teachers such as astronaut McAuliffe, whose famous slogan was “I touch the stars: I teach.” The Challenger explosion occurred as Karioth’s show was ending, and her producer asked her to stay on the air and talk about the tragedy and field phone calls. “Aside from maybe Jack Ruby, this was the first time we were watching something this traumatic as it occurred,” she said. “There wasn’t all the media and social media of today. I was probably the first to tell the people listening to me what had happened.” Karioth took several phone calls. She talked about how teachers and parents should handle the tragedy when talking to their students and children.

She was particularly worried about teachers, parents and students near Cape Canaveral, who witnessed the explosion in person. She urged teachers and parents to understand children might be confused about what they had seen. She said it was important for adults to control their own emotions and explain the explosion was an accident. “Children are very ego-centric. If they see a teacher or parent crying, they think it’s their fault,” Karioth said. “I was shocked but not surprised (the Challenger) blew up; I’m surprised they don’t all blow up. But my response was how are we going to explain it to the children and make them feel safe. Yes, people died. But it doesn’t mean everyone dies. It was imperative (teachers and parents) model behavior that indicated (children) were still safe.” McAuliffe�s pupils became teachers Joe Williams: End of an era One of the many people who likely will never forget Jan. 28, 1986 is former FSU basketball coach Joe Williams: It’s the day he resigned under pressure at FSU. Williams resigned with a month to go in his eighth season at FSU. Williams had led FSU to the NCAA tournament his second season and later the NIT.

But off-court problems that attracted national attention and four non-winning seasons doomed him. Williams, who led Jacksonville University to the national championship game in 1970, is one of only 25 coaches in history to take three teams to the NCAA Tournament (Jacksonville, Furman and FSU). Williams later coached high school and AAU teams. But he never coached in college again. Williams, 81, now lives in Mississippi and was unavailable for comment. Leon County Superintendent of Schools, Jackie Pons, was one of three Williams assistant coaches also let go that day. “Until you told me, I didn’t realize it was the same day (as the Challenger explosion),” Pons said. “The main thing I remember about Joe is he treated everybody great, no matter who you were. We were going through some rough times, but he always treated people right.” Jim Dowling: “Traumatized and mesmerized.” (Photo: Gerald Ensley) Two other local residents who suffered a loss that day were Ham and Jim Dowling. Ham’s father, and Jim’s grandfather, James Hamilton Dowling Sr., died Jan. 28, 1986, at age 90.

Dowling Sr., founded J.H. Dowling building materials in 1946. Ham and Jim Dowling still operate the company on West Madison Street. J.H. Dowling Sr., a World War I veteran who played football at Georgia Tech under John Heisman, namesake of the famous trophy, died at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital about 5 p.m., with his son at his bedside — unaware of the Challenger tragedy. “I read about it two days later in the newspaper,” said Ham Dowling, 83. “But (that day) I had other things on my mind.” Jim Dowling, 47, hadn’t remembered the Challenger tragedy occurred the same day as his grandfather’s death — though he vividly remembers the shuttle explosion. Then a Leon High senior, Dowling was at the home of a friend, Gavin Boone, son of then-Leon County Sheriff Eddie Boone. It was a teacher planning day and the two boys decided to watch the shuttle lift-off. “We watched it explode right before our eyes,” said Jim Dowling. “We must have watched the updates for two hours.

We were traumatized and mesmerized.” Upcoming events Today: 30th Anniversary Commemoration, 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Kleman Plaza Notable leaders throughout Florida will participate in the event that honors the Challenger crew members. The recognition ceremony will include a wreath-laying, presentation of colors, music and a keynote address. A moment of silence will be observed at the moment the shuttle exploded. Saturday: "A Night of Discovery: The Science of CLC," 7 to 10 p.m., Challenger Learning Center, 200 S. Duval St. The CLC is hosting the fundraising gala to support its endowment fund. During the event, STEM activities will be given an "adult twist." For instance, the chemistry lab is converted into a mixology bar. Guests can view special presentations at the IMAX Theater. For more information about the Challenger Learning Center, visit Gerald Ensley, who is married to FSU professor Sally Karioth, can be contacted at geraldensley21@gmail.com .

67 CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN 1 COMMENTEMAILMORE Read or Share this story: TOP VIDEOS Challenger Disaster 30 Years Ago Shocked the World, Changed NASA Challenger Disaster 30 Years Ago Shocked the World, Changed NASA By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | January 28, 2016 07:00am ET MORE The crew of the space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L mission, which ended in tragedy 73 seconds after launch on Jan. 28, 1986. From left to right: Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Michael Smith and Ellison Onizuka. Credit: NASA Thirty years ago today, NASA suffered a spaceflight tragedy that stunned the world and changed the agency forever. On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after blasting off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven astronauts on board — including New Hampshire educator Christa McAuliffe, a civilian who had been selected to fly via NASA's "Teacher in Space" program.

NASA astronauts had died on the job before — Apollo 1 crewmembers Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee were lost when a fire broke out inside their command module during a launchpad exercise on Jan. 27, 1967 — but the Challenger disaster was something different altogether. [ Remembering Challenger: NASA's 1st Shuttle Tragedy (Photos) ] "The whole country and the whole world were in shock when that happened, because that was the first time the United States had actually lost a space vehicle with crew on board," said former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, who flew three space shuttle missions during his career (in 1994, 1996 and 2000), and also served as commander of the International Space Station from October 2004 through April 2005. "It was even more shocking because Christa McAuliffe was not a professional astronaut," Chiao told Space.com. "If you lose military people during a military operation, it's sad and it's tragic, but they're professionals doing a job, and that's kind of the way I look at professional astronauts.

But you're taking someone who's not a professional, and it happened to be that mission that got lost — it added to the shock." Changing the culture On Jan. 28, 1986, NASA's space shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing seven astronauts and shocking the world. Here's how the Challenger accident occurred . Credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics artist Before Challenger launched on its ill-fated STS-51L mission, the space shuttle program had completed 24 missions in a row, starting with the April 1981 liftoff of the orbiter Columbia. That run of success bred a measure of complacency, Chiao said. "There was a 'launch fever' at the time, to try to get these missions off on time, and get more missions going," he said. That type of thinking played a significant role in the disaster, experts have concluded. Challenger was lost because a rubber "O-ring" seal on the shuttle's right-hand solid rocket booster failed, allowing hot gas to escape and damage the orbiter's external fuel tank, as well as the gear that attached the booster to the tank.

The O-ring failed in part because unusually cold temperatures on launch day caused the part to harden, investigators later determined. The temperature at liftoff time was 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) — 15 degrees F (8 degrees C) colder than any previous shuttle launch, NASA officials have said. [ ‪NASA Remembers Challenger (Video) ] "The decision to launch the Challenger was flawed. Those who made that decision were unaware of the recent history of problems concerning the O-rings and the joint, and were unaware of the initial written recommendation of the contractor advising against the launch at temperatures below 53 degrees Fahrenheit [11.7 degrees C] and the continuing opposition of the engineers at Thiokol [Morton Thiokol, which built the shuttle's solid rocket boosters] after the management reversed its position," investigators wrote in their report about the disaster, which is known as the Rogers Commission Report. "They did not have a clear understanding of Rockwell's concern that it was not safe to launch because of ice on the pad," they added.

(Rockwell International built the space shuttles for NASA.) "If the decision-makers had known all of the facts, it is highly unlikely that they would have decided to launch 51L on Jan. 28, 1986." In a way, the accident jolted these decision-makers awake, Chiao said. "A lot of things changed," he said. "The space shuttle had to be entirely re-certified. Every last little technical piece was re-analyzed." This work took nearly three years. The shuttle program was grounded until the orbiter Discovery blasted off on Sept. 29, 1988. The STS-51L Challenger flight crew receives emergency egress training in the slide wire baskets. They are (L to R) Mission Specialist, Ronald McNair, Payload Specialist, Gregory Jarvis, Teacher in Space Participant, Christa McAuliffe. Directly behind them are Mission Specialist Judy Resnik and Mission Specialist, Ellison Onizuka. Credit: NASA Fallen heroes The Challenger disaster claimed the lives of seven people: commander Francis "Dick" Scobee; pilot Mike Smith; mission specialists Judith Resnik, Ron McNair and Ellison Onizuka; and payload specialists McAuliffe and Greg Jarvis.

They are still missed today, three decades later. "Thirty years just seems like yesterday," said Barbara Morgan, who served as McAuliffe's "Teacher in Space" backup and eventually made it to orbit herself in 2007, aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. "These people are still with me all the time, every day." Morgan said that McAuliffe and the "Teacher in Space" program had a huge impact, even though the STS-51L mission ended in tragedy. Teacher in space Christa McAuliffe (top), backup crew member Barbara Morgan (bottom) and payload specialist Greg Jarvis (back right) training in a KC-135 “vomit comet” in the 1980s. Credit: NASA JSC Image Repository and Terry Slezak "It was a really bad time for education. A huge study had come out — a big document called 'A Nation at Risk,' and it talked about how bad our education system was, and it kind of painted all schools and all teachers with a big, broad, bad paintbrush," Morgan told Space.com. "There was a very popular saying at the time: 'Those that can, do.

Those that can't, teach.'" But McAuliffe helped change that perception, she added. "Christa was just a wonderful teacher, a wonderful human being and a wonderful representative of our profession, and that made it so that it got turned around," Morgan said. "That's something that I'm really, really grateful for, and proud of." Just a few months after the Challenger accident, the fallen astronauts' family members set up a nonprofit called the Challenger Center for Space Science Education , which seeks to spark students' interest in science, technology and math by giving them exciting, hands-on experiences in these fields. The Challenger Center has reached nearly 4.5 million kids over the last 30 years, Morgan said. The nonprofit is a "living legacy to education, carrying on the education mission that Challenger was all about," she said. "To me, that speaks volumes about what the crew was like and who they were, and it's reflected in their wonderful families as well." Keep exploring Sadly, Challenger was not the space shuttle program's only tragedy. On Feb. 1, 2003, the orbiter Columbia broke apart upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board.

These crewmembers were commander Rick Husband; pilot William McCool; payload commander Michael Anderson; mission specialists David Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark; and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, from the Israel Space Agency. A piece of insulating foam had broken off Columbia's external fuel tank during the orbiter's launch more than two weeks earlier, damaging the shuttle's left wing. Investigators later determined that this damage allowed hot atmospheric gases to enter the wing's interior, leading to the shuttle's destruction. (Some complacency had crept back into the shuttle program by 2003, Chiao said; foam shedding had been observed during previous shuttle launches but had not been deemed a potentially catastrophic phenomenon.) [ Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster Explained (Infographic) ] Disasters such as the losses of Challenger and Columbia serve as reminders that spaceflight is an inherently difficult and risky proposition, Chiao said.

"I don't think space travel will ever be as safe as commercial air travel, just because the amount of energy you have to put into a vehicle to accelerate it to orbital speed at 17,500 mph [28,160 km/h] — any time you have to put that much energy into a vehicle, and then take it out again to bring it back, there's going to be risk involved," he said. "Unfortunately, as much as we try to minimize and avoid these mishaps, every now and then we're going to have them happen," Chiao added. "What we have to do is, do what we can to learn from them, apply lessons learned and keep moving forward." NASA's path forward does not include the space shuttle; the agency grounded its remaining orbiters for good in July 2011. American astronauts are currently dependent upon Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get to and from the International Space Station, though NASA has said it hopes private spacecraft developed by Boeing and SpaceX will be ready to take over this taxi service by late 2017.

NASA's human spaceflight program, meanwhile, is focused on getting people to Mars sometime in the 2030s (with a mission to a captured asteroid in lunar orbit in the 2020s currently envisioned as a sort of stepping stone). The agency is developing a capsule called Orion and a huge rocket called the Space Launch System to make all this happen. "I know we're going to get there," Morgan said of Mars. "It's taken longer than I think we all wished, but it's exciting." You can learn much more about the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia tragedies here: Challenger lost after liftoff - Jan 28, 1986 - HISTORY.com Challenger lost after liftoff Publisher A+E Networks The space shuttle Challenger is lost just after liftoff on this day in 1986, killing the seven astronauts aboard. The Challenger was the second shuttle built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It took its first flight into space on April 4, 1983, and made a total of nine voyages prior to January 1986.

The 10th trip for Challenger included a teacher from New Hampshire , Christa MacAuliffe, among the astronauts, as part of a new Teacher in Space project. The Challenger was scheduled to launch on January 22, but a series of problems with the weather delayed the launch until January 28. It was a cold morning at Cape Canaveral and engineers working on the shuttle team warned their superiors that certain equipment on the shuttle was vulnerable to failure at cold temperatures. However, these warnings went unheeded and at 11:39 a.m., the Challenger was launched. Problems began immediately. First, the O-ring seal on the Challenger‘s solid rocket booster, which had become brittle in the cold temperatures, failed. Flames then broke out of the booster and damaged the external fuel tank. Within 73 seconds, the shuttle began breaking apart, and then it plunged into the ocean. All seven astronauts died but it remains unclear what caused their deaths. A later investigation revealed that the forces involved in the shuttle breakup were not sufficient to have killed them, but that they may have lost consciousness only seconds later as their module lost cabin pressure.

President Ronald Reagan postponed the State of the Union address that was scheduled for that evening and instead addressed the nation about the tragedy. He appointed a commission to investigate the accident and the shuttle program was put on hiatus. The Rogers Commission determined that Morton Thiokol, the company that designed the solid rocket boosters, had ignored warnings about potential flaws. NASA managers were aware of these design problems, but also failed to take action. Famously, scientist Richard Feynman, a member of the Rogers Commission, demonstrated the O-ring flaw to the public using a simple glass of ice water. Ten years after the disaster, two large pieces from the Challenger washed ashore on a Florida beach. The remaining debris from the Challenger is now stored in a missile silo at Cape Canaveral. Related Videos Challenger Disaster: 25 Years Later - Videos - CBS News Challenger Disaster: 25 Years Later Challenger Disaster: 25 Years Later January 28, 2011, 2:14 AM | On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after take-off. Jeff Glor has a look back at the tragedy.

BBC ON THIS DAY | 28 | 1986: Seven dead in space shuttle disaster 1986: Seven dead in space shuttle disaster The American space shuttle, Challenger, has exploded killing all seven astronauts on board. The five men and two women - including the first teacher in space - were just over a minute into their flight from Cape Canaveral in Florida when the Challenger blew up. The astronauts' families, at the airbase, and millions of Americans witnessed the world's worst space disaster live on TV. The danger from falling debris prevented rescue boats reaching the scene for more than an hour. In 25 years of space exploration seven people have died - today that total has been doubled. President Ronald Reagan has described the tragedy as "a national loss". The Challenger's flight, the 25th by a shuttle, had already been delayed because of bad weather. High winds, then icicles caused the launch to be postponed from 22 January. But Nasa officials insist safety remains their top priority and there was no pressure to launch the shuttle today. The shuttle crew was led by Commander Dick Scobee, 46.

Christa McAuliffe, 37, married with two children, was to be the first school teacher in space - picked from among 10,000 entries for a competition. Speaking before the launch, she said: "One of the things I hope to bring back into the classroom is to make that connection with the students that they too are part of history, the space programme belongs to them and to try to bring them up with the space age." President Reagan has put off his state of the union address. He was meeting senior aides in the Oval Office when he learned of the disaster. We will never forget them US President Ronald Reagan He has called for an immediate inquiry into the disaster but he said the space programme would go on - in honour to the dead astronauts. Vice-President George Bush has been sent to Cape Canaveral to visit the victims' families. This evening, the president went on national television to pay tribute to the courage and bravery of the seven astronauts. He said: "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them this morning as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God."

Question: In which year did the space shuttle Challenger explode 73 seconds after lift off?
Answer: 1986