McAuliffe, 37, was a Concord, NH, social studies teacher who had won NASA’s Teacher in Space contest and earned a spot on the Jan. 28, 1986, mission as a payload specialist. The brave crew members - Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe - survived the initial disaster and “were conscious, at least at first, and fully aware that something was wrong,” author Kevin Cook writes in the new book “ The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA’s Challenger” (Henry Holt and Co.), out now. It was ejected in the explosion, and remained intact. Inside Houston’s Mission Control and Florida’s Launch Control centers, rows of S’s lined computer screens, indicating “static.” All audio and communication from the shuttle had been lost.īut the capsule the crew was sitting inside did not explode. A little-known Air Force official whose title was range safety officer quickly hit a self-destruct button, causing the boosters to explode and fall into the sea rather than on any populated areas. The booster rockets separated, and kept blasting upward on diverging paths. McAuliffe was selected out of 11,000 applicants partly because of her ease on camera.
The tank quickly ruptured, igniting the hydrogen fuel and causing a massive, Hindenburg-like explosion. The breach allowed a few grams of superheated fuel to burn through.Īt one minute and 12 seconds after liftoff, the small flame grew, taking only three seconds to penetrate the fuel tank’s aluminum skin. The rings failed to expand fully in the cold, leaving a gap of less than a millimeter between booster sections. It was leaking fuel.Īs was later learned, the cold of the Florida morning had stiffened the rubber O-rings that held the booster sections together, containing the explosive fuel inside. Sitting on the right side of the flight deck, Smith looked out his window and likely saw a flash of vapor or a fire.ĭown on the ground at Mission Control, a computer screen indicated falling pressure in the right booster rocket. The Space Shuttle Challenger was hurtling through the air at twice the speed of sound when pilot Michael Smith noticed something alarming. ‘Challenger: The Final Flight’ trailer explores 1986 tragedyįirst of Christa McAuliffe’s lost lessons released from space Piece of Challenger space shuttle found nearly 37 years after deadly explosion They feared the putty used to seal the ring could have had ice in or around it, and the hardiness of the ring being a function of temperature could have kept the ring from performing properly in the joint.Ex-astronaut says ‘toxic’ NASA hasn’t learned from costly fatal mistakes The O-rings used to keep the flammable gas from seeping out of the tank had not been tested in such low temperatures.Įngineers warned of the possible failure of the O-ring given the uncharted territory into such cold temperatures.
Challenger launch full#
The booster on the side getting full sun was 15-20 degrees warmer. Records later show the temperature near the right SRB that failed was actually closer to 28 degrees due to its height off the ground and the fact that booster was in the shade. and temperatures had risen to a chilly 36 degrees. Ice on the launch pad would have sent astronauts slipping if they had to evacuate due to an emergency prior to launch.Ī number of checks were performed on the ice prior to liftoff. This was an important factor, not just for the external tank but on the pad itself. Ice development is considered a debris hazard since it can break off and damage thermal protection tiles on the shuttle. That morning after seeing ice on the tank, liftoff was delayed to just before lunch time to allow for the sun to melt it. There was ice on the external tank that housed liquid oxygen and hydrogen. Strong wind gusts blew water on parts of the pad and froze. Water was drained from pipes on the launch pad, but another factor defeated their efforts. Preparations were made the night before to prevent or minimize ice formation. Temperatures behind a strong cold front had dipped to a frigid 26 degrees, well below the average low of 50 degrees. The disaster was caused by an O-ring seal that failed to work properly during the unusually cold conditions.
The right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed during liftoff. (Copyright 2021 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.) This action resulted in a surreal scene for the Florida launch facility. When it was determined that air temperatures combined with wind speeds were going to cause freezing conditions, a decision was made to leave all water supply lines on slow "trickle" to prevent line burst.
Icicles formed on the launch pad and service tower in the evening and early morning hours on January 28, 1986.
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