The whole nation watched the Space Shuttle Challenger's live launch on Jan. 28, 1986. The spacecraft carried Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher-astronaut. Horribly, the entire shuttle exploded in a fireball just 73 seconds after it took off and killed the entire crew. This Jan. 28, NASA is remembering the 30th anniversary of the unfortunate Space Shuttle Challenger launch.
The Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident discovered in June 1986 that the O-ring seals located in the right rocket booster "failed" in the cold temperature. This caused the booster to break and explode.
The failed Space Shuttle Challenger launch also took the lives of astronauts Gregory Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Ron McNair and Francis "Dick" Scobee. Smithsonian Institute's space history division chairman Roger Launius said the O-ring's complete failure was not anticipated at cold temperatures.
"I am able now to treat the event as history rather than avoiding the public scrutiny that overcame us during our private grieving," said June Scobee Rodgers, the wife of the late Francis "Dick" Scobee.
January is a somber time for the U.S. space agency. The month's end marks the anniversary of U.S. spaceflight's three major tragedies.
1967 Apollo Capsule
Three men from NASA's first team of astronauts, namely Roger Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White, died during the Apollo capsule's routine ground test on Jan. 27, 1967. An electric spark caused a fire that consumed the pure-oxygen, high-pressurized cabin. The accident led to the suffocation of all three astronauts. It marked the first astronaut deaths in U.S. spaceflight history. The Apollo capsule was later named to Apollo I.
2003 Columbia Space Shuttle
On Feb. 1, 2003, NASA's Columbia space shuttle dismantled upon its re-entry into the planet. The accident took the lives of its entire crew, namely U.S. astronauts Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Willie McCool, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson and Ilan Ramon, an Israeli astronaut. The Columbia space shuttle then just finished a 16-day mission.
Investigation found that a hollow on the Columbia space shuttle's left wing suffered too much heat during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. The left wing was gashed by the foam insulation of its fuel tank during the Jan. 16, 2003 liftoff. This caused the fiery cases to enter the shuttle. NASA officials thought the gash during shuttle's lift off wasn't enough to cause the shuttle to explode.
Other NASA Accidents
1970 Apollo 13
The Apollo 13 was four-fifths into its course to the Moon when the spacecraft was damaged on April 13, 1970 by a burst tank containing liquid oxygen. The three astronauts immediately transferred to the lunar module and survived the accident.
2008 Wallops Island, Virginia Failed Launch
On August 22, 2008, NASA terminated an unmanned rocket 27 seconds after its liftoff from the Wallops Island in Virginia. The experimental rocket, which was a prototype developed by Alliant Techsystems Inc. or ATK, was carrying research satellites. The rocket veered off its course, pushing NASA to destroy it via remote control to prevent endangering the public. The rocket was around 11,000 to 12,000 feet above the ground when it exploded.
Photo: NASA on The Commons | Flickr
