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 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes, January 28, 1986 | EDN Space Shuttle Challenger explodes, January 28, 1986 Just 73 seconds after liftoff, NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986. Challenger was on mission STS-51-L, the 25th flight of the American Space Shuttle program. This flight marked the first time a non-government civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. McAuliffe was one of seven crewmates -- Gregory Jarvis, McAuliffe, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Francis "Dick" Scobee, and Michael J. Smith -- all of whom died in the accident. Jarvis was originally scheduled to fly on the previous shuttle flight but had been re-assigned to this flight and replaced by Congressman Bill Nelson. In this photo from January 9, 1986, the Challenger crew takes a break during countdown training at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Left to right are McAuliffe, Jarvis, Resnik, Scobee, McNair, Smith, and Onizuka. Source: NASA This was the 10th mission for Challenger. It was planned to deploy the second in a series of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, carry out the first flight of the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203)/Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable in order to observe Halley's Comet, and carry out several lessons from space as part of the Teacher in Space Project and the Shuttle Student Involvement Program. The flight marked the first American orbital mission to involve in-flight fatalities. It was also the first American human spaceflight mission to launch and fail to reach space. Because the mission was part of the Teacher in Space Project and the Shuttle Student Involvement Program, school-age children across the United States were watching the launch live from their classrooms. President Ronald Reagan made special note of this in his address to the nation regarding the Challenger accident that day.

On June 6, 1986, the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (more commonly known as The Rogers Commission Report ) stated the cause of the accident to have been the failure of the primary and secondary O-ring seals on the Challenger's right solid rocket booster (SRB). NASA mission archives also note that cold weather was determined to be a contributing factor to the accident. The launch had been approved despite a predicted ambient temperature of 26 °F, well below the qualification limit of major components such as the SRBs, which had been certified for use only at temperatures above 40 °F. Space Shuttle Challenger's smoke plume after its in-flight breakup, resulting in its crash and the deaths of all seven crew members. Source: NASA Evidence found in the remnants of the crew cabin showed that several of the emergency air supplies carried by the astronauts had been manually activated, suggesting that forces experienced inside the cabin during breakup of the orbiter were not immediately fatal, and that at least three crew members were alive and capable of conscious action for some period of time following vehicle breakup.

However, based on remnants found after the accident and transcripts of the moments leading up to the accident, it is believed that the crew died quickly and without full understanding of what was occurring. Prior to this accident, Challenger was a star in NASA’s Space Shuttle program, flying more missions per year than Space Shuttle Columbia. In 1983 and 1984, Challenger flew on 85% of all Space Shuttle missions. Even when the Discovery and Atlantis joined the fleet, Challenger remained in heavy use with three missions a year from 1983 to 1985. Challenger's many spaceflight accomplishments included the first American woman, African-American, and Canadian in space; three Spacelab missions; and the first night launch and night landing of a Space Shuttle. The loss of Challenger and its crew led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet, with missions resuming in 1988 with the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-26. Challenger was replaced by the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which first launched in May 1992 and was constructed from structural spare parts that had been commissioned by NASA as part of the construction contracts for Discovery and Atlantis.

Also see: 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: remembered - Photos - The Big Picture - Boston.com Challenger disaster: remembered On January 28, 1986, at 11:38 a.m., EST, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The entire crew of seven was lost in the explosion 73 seconds into the launch. Today, on the 25th anniversary of this national tragedy, we honor in memory the brave crew who gave their lives for the exploration of space. Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire social studies teacher, was NASA's choice for the first teacher in space. Because McAuliffe was our local astronaut, she is featured heavily in this post, but we honor all seven on the anniversary of a nation's great loss. -- Paula Nelson ( 34 photos total ) The crew of the space shuttle Challenger. From left: Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and Judith Resnik. (NASA/1986) 2 Christa McAuliffe at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

A whole generation, including McAuliffe's own students, has grown up since McAuliffe and six other astronauts perished on Jan. 28, 1986, a quarter century ago on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. Former schoolchildren who loved her are making sure that people who weren't even born then know about McAuliffe and her dream of going into space. (AP/1985) # 3 Christa McAuliffe rides in the Lions Club parade, passing in front of the New Hampshire Statehouse, with her daughter, Caroline, and son, Scott. McAuliffe was a social studies teacher at Concord High School, before being chosen NASA's first teacher in space. (The Boston Globe/Janet Knott/1985) # 4 McAuliffe, chosen America's first teacher to fly aboard a space shuttle mission conducts her hometown volunteer "Nevers Band" on the Statehouse lawn.

Concord had proclaimed "Christa McAuliffe Day." She conducted the band in "Stars and Stripes Forever" (The Boston Globe/Janet Knott/1985) # 24 President Ronald Reagan, surrounded by members of his senior staff, watches a television replay of the explosion of the Challenger at the White House. From left are: Larry Speakes, Deputy White House Press Secretary; Presidential Assistant Dennis Thomas; Special Assistant Jim Kuhn; Reagan; White House Communications Director Patrick Buchanan, and Chief of Staff Donald Regan (AP/Craig Fuji) # 25 Customer David Kimball reacts as store employees Lynne Beck and Lisa Olson embrace. They watched the Houston memorial service for the astronauts who died in the Challenger explosion at a store in Concord, N.H. Pictured on the television screen are family members of one of the astronauts. (AP/Charles Krupa/1986) # 28 Sailors from the Navy salvage ship USS Preserver pull in what is believed to be part of the rocket casing of an inertial upper stage, which rode in Challenger's cargo bay when it exploded 1/28/86.

The stage was to have boosted a tracking data satellite to a higher orbit, after release by the crew. The debris was found in waters about 70 feet deep, 20 miles northeast of the Kennedy Space Center. (AP) # 29 Members of the Presidential Commission on the space shuttle Challenger accident walk past the solid rocket boosters and the external tank of a shuttle being fitted in the Vehicle Assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP) # 30 Debris from the space shuttle Challenger is laid out on a giant grid at the Kennedy Space Center in this March 1986 NASA photo. NASA hoped to piece together the remains of the space vehicle. The photograph was part of the testimony given to the Presidential Commission on the space shuttle Challenger accident. (NASA) # 32 Snow falls on the gravesite of Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe and the rest of the crew of the space shuttle Challenger died 25 years ago when the shuttle exploded. Before the world knew her as "the teacher in space," McAuliffe was known as a popular, energetic teacher who took a great interest in her students.

(AP/Jim Cole) # 33 Christa McAuliffe Elementary students walk past a display honoring McAuliffe in February 2003, after an assembly about the history of the space shuttles. McAuliffe, and the six other astronauts who died 25 years ago today, are remembered for their courage and desire to explore the unknown. (AP/Mike Roemer) # 34 A wreath commemorating the seven astronauts who perished in the space shuttle Challenger accident rests in the Astronaut Memorial Tree Grove during the annual National Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Johnson Space Center on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, in Houston (AP/Houston Chronicle/Smiley N. Pool) # More links and information Space Shuttle Challenger - A look back: Challenger shuttle disaster - Pictures - CBS News A look back: Challenger shuttle disaster Next Space Shuttle Challenger Thirty years ago the space shuttle Challenger broke apart in the clear, cold sky high above Cape Canaveral shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986. The U.S. space shuttle exploded after lift-off, killing its crew of seven.

Challenger was 73 seconds into its flight when it was suddenly enveloped in a red, orange and white fireball as thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel exploded. Credit: Bruce Weaver/AP Challenger crew This 1986 photo shows the crew of the space shuttle Challenger. From left are Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair and Judith Resnik. Credit: NASA/AP Challenger crew The crew members of space shuttle Challenger flight 51-L, leave their quarters for the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 27, 1986. From foreground are commander Francis Scobee, Mission Spl. Judith Resnik, Mission Spl. Ronald McNair, Payload Spl. Gregory Jarvis, Mission Spl. Ellison Onizuka, teacher Christa McAuliffe and pilot Michael Smith. Credit: Steve Helber/AP Challenger The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986, shortly before it exploded with a crew of seven aboard.

Credit: AP Photo/Thom Baur Challenger Spectators at Kennedy Space Center watch as the space shuttle Challenger lifts from Pad 39-B on January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: AP Challenger lifts off The space shuttle Challenger lifts off Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986. Credit: NASA/AP Challenger booster rockets The booster rockets from the Space Shuttle Challenger fly off after the shuttle exploded after lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986. Credit: NASA/Getty Images Challenger An unusual flame is seen jutting from the side of a solid rocket booster on the space shuttle Challenger during its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Jauary 28, 1986. A subsequent explosion killed its crew of seven. Credit: NASA/AP Challenger lift off The solid fuel rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger starts to explode over Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images Challenger The solid fuel rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger starts to explode over Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images Challenger explosion A solid fuel rocket booster disappears behind the contrail of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, over Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as debris from the orbiter begins to fall to earth. Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images Challenger explosion This image made from a television screen shows the space shuttle Challenger after exploding during its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28, 1986. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew Challenger A solid fuel rocket booster disappears behind the contrail of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, over Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as debris from the orbiter begins to fall to earth.

Credit: Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty Images Spectators at Challenger launch Spectators at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, react after they witnessed the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. Credit: AP Photo/File President Ronald Reagan President Ronald Reagan is shown in the Oval Office of the White House after a televised address to the nation about the space shuttle Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986. Credit: Dennis Cook/AP Searching for Challenger debris A cross and wreath with a picture of the space shuttle Challenger stand on the shore as a Coast Guard cutter heads out to sea searching for debris from the shuttle in Cape Canaveral, Florida on February 1, 1986. Credit: Jim Neihouse/AP Challenger memorial service Customer David Kimball of Manchester, N.H., reacts as store employees Lynne Beck of Salisbury, N.H., and Lisa Olson, far right, of Manchester, N.H., embrace as they watch the Houston memorial service for the astronauts who died in the Challenger explosion on a television in a store in Concord, New Hampshire, on February 1, 1986. Pictured on the television screen are family members of one of the astronauts.

Credit: Charles Krupa/AP Drawing of Challenger A drawing made by a first grade student is shown on January 31, 1986. The student's class at the Our Lady of Lourdes School in Melbourne, Florida, was asked to draw what they thought happened to the space shuttle Challenger and the people aboard. Credit: Thom Baur/AP Challenger debris Pieces of the Space Shuttle Challenger are arranged in a hangar on February 27, 1986, after being salvaged from the Atlantic Ocean where they were scattered on January 28, 1986, when the spacecraft exploded. Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images Challenger rocket booster This April 1986 photo taken at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows an approximately 1800-to-2000 pound, 6-by-10 foot piece of the Space Shuttle Challenger's right-hand solid rocket booster. It was recovered by the Stena Workhorse northeast of Cape Canaveral in 600 feet of water.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images Challenger wreckage This April 1986 photo taken at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows the wreckage from the Space Shuttle Challenger displayed in the Logistic Facility. The wreckage was set up to assist the process of studying the Challenger accident. Credit: AFP/Getty Images Challenger wreckage This April 1986 photo taken at Kennedy Space Center in in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shows the wreckage from the Space Shuttle Challenger displayed in the Logistic Facility. The wreckage was set up to assist the process of studying the Challenger accident. Hidden photos of space tragedy CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 1: Before take-off. Picture: Supplied1 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 2. Picture: Supplied2 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 3. Picture: Supplied3 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 4. Picture: Supplied4 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 6.

Picture: Supplied5 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 7. Picture: Supplied6 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 8. Picture: Supplied7 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 9. Picture: Supplied8 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 10. Picture: Supplied9 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 11. Picture: Supplied10 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 12. Picture: Supplied11 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 13. Picture: Supplied12 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 14.

Picture: Supplied13 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 15. Picture: Supplied14 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 16. Picture: Supplied15 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 17. Picture: Supplied16 of 24 Challenger's long-lost pictures17 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 19. Picture: Supplied18 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 20. Picture: Supplied19 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 21. Picture: Supplied20 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 22. Picture: Supplied21 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 23.

Picture: Supplied22 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 24. Picture: Supplied23 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 26. Picture: Supplied24 of 24 CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 1: Before take-off. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 2. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 3. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 4. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 6. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 7. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 8. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 9.

Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 10. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 11. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 12. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 13. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 14. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 15. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 16. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 17. Picture: Supplied Challenger's long-lost pictures CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 19. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 20.

Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 21. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 22. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 23. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 24. Picture: Supplied CHALLENGER DISASTER: Long-lost images of the tragic mid-air explosion. 26. Picture: Supplied 1 of 24 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 Disaster - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Background In 1976, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the world’s first reusable manned spacecraft, known as the space shuttle. Five years later, shuttle flights began when Columbia traveled into space on a 54-hour mission.

Launched by two solid-rocket boosters and an external tank, the aircraft-like shuttle entered into orbit around Earth. When the mission was completed, the shuttle fired engines to reduce speed and, after descending through the atmosphere, landed like a glider. Early shuttles took satellite equipment into space and carried out various scientific experiments. Did You Know? After "Teacher in Space" Christa McAuliffe was killed during the 1986 Challenger disaster, her backup, a former math teacher named Barbara Morgan, served as a mission specialist during a 2007 flight of the shuttle Endeavor. Challenger, NASA’s second space shuttle to enter service, embarked on its maiden voyage on April 4, 1983, and made a total of nine voyages prior to 1986. That year, it was scheduled to launch on January 22 carrying a seven-member crew that included Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies instructor from New Hampshire who had earned a spot on the mission through NASA’s Teacher in Space Program. After undergoing months of training, she was set to become the first ordinary American citizen to travel into space.

Challenger’s Catastrophic Launch The mission’s launch from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida , was delayed for six days due to weather and technical problems. The morning of January 28 was unusually cold, and engineers warned their superiors that certain components—particularly the rubber O-rings that sealed the joints of the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters—were vulnerable to failure at low temperatures. However, these warnings went unheeded, and at 11:39 a.m. Challenger lifted off. Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including the families of McAuliffe and the other astronauts on board, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. Within instants, the spacecraft broke apart and plunged into the ocean, killing its entire crew, traumatizing the nation and throwing NASA’s shuttle program into turmoil. Investigation by the Rogers Commission Shortly after the disaster, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger and to develop future corrective measures.

Headed by former secretary of state William Rogers, the commission included former astronaut Neil Armstrong and former test pilot Chuck Yeager. Their investigation revealed that the O-ring seal on 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, causing the spacecraft to disintegrate. The commission also found that Morton Thiokol, the company that designed the solid rocket boosters, had ignored warnings about potential issues. NASA managers were aware of these design problems but also failed to take action. Famously, scientist Richard Feynman, a member of the commission, demonstrated the O-ring flaw to the public using a simple glass of ice water. Aftermath of the Challenger Disaster After the accident, NASA refrained from sending astronauts into space for more than two years as it redesigned a number of the shuttle’s features. Flights began again in September 1988 with the successful launching of Discovery. Since then, the space shuttle has carried out numerous important missions, including the repair and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope and the construction of the International Space Station.

On February 1, 2003, a second space shuttle disaster rocked the United States when Columbia disintegrated upon reentry, killing all aboard. While missions resumed in July 2005, the space shuttle is slated for retirement in 2011. Ten years after the Challenger tragedy, two large pieces from the spacecraft washed ashore on a Florida beach. The remaining debris is now stored in a missile silo at Cape Canaveral. Tags Challenger STS 51-L Accident Challenger STS 51-L Accident Image library of the STS-51L Challenger mission at Johnson Space Center. Movie clips of the STS-51L Challenger mission, from the Kennedy Space Center. Press Kit: this pre-launch document has been scanned from the original print version and in high-resolution format by volunteer Rich Orloff. A description of modifications to the Solid Rocket Motors from the On-line Space Shuttle Reference Manual . A Challenger Bibliography : This is chapter 7 of the Space Shuttle bibliography published in 1992. The fate of Challenger's crew: Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin's investigation tried to determine the cause of the crew's deaths. His report and the accompanying press release are available.

The Crew of the Challenger Shuttle Mission in 1986 National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Crew of the Challenger Shuttle Mission in 1986 The Challenger shuttle crew, of seven astronauts--including the specialties of pilot, aerospace engineers, and scientists-- died tragically in the explosion of their spacecraft during the launch of STS-51-L from the Kennedy Space Center about 11:40 a.m., EST, on January 28, 1986. The explosion occurred 73 seconds into the flight as a result of a leak in one of two Solid Rocket Boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank. The crewmembers of the Challenger represented a cross-section of the American population in terms of race, gender, geography, background, and religion. The explosion became one of the most significant events of the 1980s, as billions around the world saw the accident on television and empathized with any one of the several crewmembers killed. The spacecraft commander was Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis W. Scobee.

He was born on May 19, 1939, in Cle Elum, Washington, and graduated from the public high school in Auburn, Washington, in 1957. He then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, training as a reciprocating engine mechanic but longing to fly. He took night courses and in 1965 completed a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona. This made it possible for Scobee to receive an officer's commission and enter the Air Force pilot training program. He received his pilot's wings in 1966 and began a series of flying assignments with the Air Force, including a combat tour in Vietnam. Scobee also married June Kent of San Antonio, Texas, and they had two children, Kathie R. and Richard W., in the early 1960s. He attended the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1972 and thereafter was involved in several test programs. As an Air Force test pilot Scobee flew more than 45 types of aircraft, logging more than 6,500 hours of flight time.

In 1978 Scobee entered NASA's astronaut corps and was the pilot of STS-41-C, the fifth orbital flight of the Challenger spacecraft, launching from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 6, 1984. During this seven-day mission the crew successfully retrieved and repaired the ailing Solar Maximum Satellite and returned it to orbit. This was an enormously important mission, because it demonstrated the capability that NASA had long said existed with the Space Shuttle to repair satellites in orbit. The pilot for the fatal 1986 Challenger mission was Michael J. Smith, born on April 30, 1945 in Beaufort, North Carolina. At the time of the Challenger accident a commander in the U.S. Navy, Smith had been educated at the U.S. Naval Academy, class of 1967, and received an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1968. From there he underwent aviator training at Kingsville, Texas, and received his wings in May 1969.

After a tour as an instructor at the Navy's Advanced Jet Training Command between 1969 and 1971, Smith flew A- 6 "Intruders" from the USS Kitty Hawk in Southeast Asia. Later he worked as a test pilot for the Navy, flying 28 different types of aircraft and logging more than 4,300 hours of flying time. Smith was selected as a NASA astronaut in May 1980, and a year later, after completing further training, he received an assignment as a Space Shuttle pilot, the position he occupied aboard Challenger. This mission was his first space flight. Judith A. Resnik was one of three mission specialists on Challenger. Born on April 5, 1949 at Akron, Ohio, the daughter of Dr. Marvin Resnik, a respected Akron optometrist, and Sarah Resnik. Brought up in the Jewish religion, Resnik was educated in public schools before attending Carnegie-Mellon University, where she received a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1970, and the University of Maryland, where she took at Ph.D. in the same field in 1977.

Resnik worked in a variety of professional positions with the RCA corporation in the early 1970s and as a staff fellow with the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, between 1974 and 1977. Selected as a NASA astronaut in January 1978, the first cadre containing women, Resnik underwent the training program for Shuttle mission specialists during the next year. Thereafter, she filled a number of positions within NASA at the Johnson Space Center, working on aspects of the Shuttle program. Resnik became the second American woman in orbit during the maiden flight of Discovery, STS-41-D, between August 30 and September 5, 1984. During this mission she helped to deploy three satellites into orbit; she was also involved in biomedical research during the mission. Afterward, she began intensive training for the STS-51- L mission on which she was killed. Ronald E. McNair was the second of three mission specialists aboard Challenger. Born on October 21, 1950 in Lake City, South Carolina, McNair was the son of Carl C.

McNair, Sr., and Pearl M. McNair. He achieved early success in the segregated public schools he attended as both a student and an athlete. Valedictorian of his high school class, he attended North Carolina A&T State University where in 1971 he received a B.S. degree in physics. He went on to study physics at MIT, where he specialized in quantum electronics and laser technology, completing his Ph.D. in 1977. As a student he performed some of the earliest work on chemical HF/DF and high pressure CO lasers, publishing pathbreaking scientific papers on the subject. McNair was also a physical fitness advocate and pursued athletic training from an early age. He was a leader in track and football at his high school. He also became a black belt in Karate, and while in graduate school began offering classes at St. Paul's AME Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also participated in several Karate tournaments, taking more than 30 trophies in these competitions. While involved in these activities McNair met and married Cheryl B. Moore of Brooklyn, New York, and they later had two children. After completing his Ph.D.

he began working as a physicist at the Optical Physics Department of Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, and conducted research on electro-optic laser modulation for satellite-to-satellite space communications. This research led McNair into close contact with the space program for the first time, and when the opportunity presented itself he applied for astronaut training. In January 1978 NASA selected him to enter the astronaut cadre, one of the first three Black Americans selected. McNair became the second Black American in space between Febrary 3 and 11, 1984, by flying on the Challenger Shuttle mission STS-41-B. During this mission McNair operated the maneuverable arm built by Canada used to move payloads in space. The 1986 mission on which he was killed was his second Shuttle flight. Ellison S. Onizuka, was the last of the three mission specialists. He had been born in Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, on June 24, 1946, of Japanese-American parents. He attended the University of Colorado, receiving B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering in June and December 1969, respectively.

While at the university he married Lorna Leido Yoshida of Hawaii, and the couple eventually had two children. He also participated in the Air Force R.O.T.C. program, leading to a commission in January 1970. Onizuka served on active duty with the Air Force until January 1978 when he was selected as a NASA astronaut. With the Air Force in the early 1970s he was an aerospace flight test engineer at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center. After July 1975 he was assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as squadron flight test officer and later as chief of the engineering support section. When Onizuka was selected for the astronaut corps he entered into a one year training program and then became eligible for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flights. He worked on orbiter test and checkout teams and launch support crews at the Kennedy Space Center for the first two Shuttle missions. Since he was an Air Force officer on detached duty with NASA, Onizuka was a logical choice to serve on the first dedicated Department of Defense classified mission.

He was a mission specialist on STS-51-C, taking place 24-27 Jan. 1985 on the Discovery orbiter. The Challenger flight was his second Shuttle mission. The last two members of the Challenger crew were not officially Federal government employees. Gregory B. Jarvis, a payload specialist, worked for the Hughes Aircraft Corp.'s Space and Communications Group in Los Angeles, California, and had been made available for the Challenger flight by his company. Jarvis had been born on August 24, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. He had been educated at the State University of New York at Buffalo, receiving a B.S. in electrical engineering (1967); at Northeastern University, Boston, where he received an M.S. degree in the same field (1969); and at West Coast University, Los Angeles, where he completed coursework for an M.S. in management science (1973). Jarvis began work at Hughes in 1973 and served in a variety of technical positions until 1984 when he was accepted into the astronaut program under Hughes' sponsorship after competing against 600 other Hughes employees for the opportunity.

Jarvis' duties on the Challenger flight had revolved around gathering new information on the design of liquid-fueled rockets. The last member of the crew was Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space. Selected from among more than 11,000 applicants from the education profession for entrance into the astronaut ranks, McAuliffe had been born on September 2, 1948, the oldest child of Edward and Grace Corrigan. Her father was at that time completing his sophomore year at Boston College, but not long thereafter he took a job as an assistant comptroller in a Boston department store and the family moved to the Boston suburb of Framingham. As a youth she registered excitement over the Apollo moon landing program, and wrote years later on her astronaut application form that "I watched the Space Age being born and I would like to participate." McAuliffe attended Framingham State College in her hometown, graduating in 1970. A few weeks later she married her longstanding boyfriend, Steven McAuliffe, and they moved to the Washington, DC, metropolitan area so Steven could attend Georgetown Law School. She took a job teaching in the secondary schools, specializing in American history and social studies.

They stayed in the Washington area for the next eight years, she teaching and completing an M.A. from Bowie State University, in Maryland. They moved to Concord, New Hampshire, in 1978 when Steven accepted a job as an assistant to the state attorney general. Christa took a teaching post at Concord High School in 1982, and in 1984 learned about NASA's efforts to locate an educator to fly on the Shuttle. The intent was to find a gifted teacher who could communicate with students from space. NASA selected McAuliffe for this position in the summer of 1984 and in the fall she took a year-long leave of absence from teaching, during which time NASA would pay her salary, and trained for an early 1986 Shuttle mission. She had an immediate rapport with the media, and the teacher in space program received tremendous popular attention as a result. It is in part because of the excitement over McAuliffe's presence on the Challenger that the accident had such a significant impact on the nation. For Further Reading: Joseph D. Atkinson, Jr., and Jay M.

Shafritz, The Real Stuff: A History of the NASA Astronaut Recruitment Program (New York: Praeger 1985). Daniel and Susan Cohen, Heroes of the Challenger (London: Archway Paperbacks, 1986). Grace Corrigan, A Journal for Christa: Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1993). Robert E. Hohler, "I Touch the Future . . ." The Story of Christa McAuliffe (New York: Random House, 1986). William P. Rogers, et al., Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, five volumes (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1986). David Shayler, Shuttle Challenger (London: Salamander Books, 1987). Joseph J. Trento, with reporting by Susan B. Trento, Prescription for Disaster: From the Glory of Apollo to the Betrayal of the Shuttle (New York: Crown Pubs., 1987).

Staff of the Washington Post, Challengers: The Inspiring Life Stories of the Seven Brave Astronauts of Shuttle Mission 51-L (New York: Pocket Books, 1986). For further information email hq-histinfo@nasa.gov Updated October 22, 2004

Question: Which NASA space shuttle was lost after exploding 73 seconds after lift off in 1986?
Answer: Challenger