[Infowarrior] - Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 30 years ago today

[Richard Forno]

Middle school - earth science class, watching it live.  And I remember being in a daze walking across the parking lot to my next class afterward.  "Go with throttle up" was always a palpitation-inducing moment when watching future launches.  One of the most potent childhood memories of my generation, I think.  30 years ago today.   -- rick


Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 30 years ago today
By Deb Kiner | dkiner at pennlive.com 
on January 28, 2016 at 7:13 AM, updated January 28, 2016 at 7:23 AM

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/space_shuttle_challenger_explo.html

Do you remember where you were?

As the whole world watched, on Jan. 28, 1986, the first teacher in space, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, and her fellow crew members of Space Shuttle Challenger, died when just 73 seconds into its mission, it exploded.

The crew members were Francis R. Scobee, mission commander; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Mike J. Smith, pilot; Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist; and McAuliffe, teacher in space and payload specialist.

Challenger's launch had been delayed several times. Ultimately, its mission lasted just 1 minute and 13 seconds. It traveled 18 miles.

Challenger disintegrated over the Altantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Fla. The explosion was blamed on a failed O-ring seal in the right rocket booster. The seal had become brittle because of the cold temperature that morning.

Several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup – four "Personal Egress Air Packs" were found to have been activated. But, the impact of the crew cabin with the surface of the ocean was not survivable.

Divers from the USS Preserver found the crew compartment on the ocean floor on March 7. The remains of the seven crew members were found in the compartment.

The "Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident" on the cause of the accident said this, "The consensus of the Commission and participating investigative agencies is that the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger was caused by a failure in the joint between the two lower segments of the right Solid Rocket Motor.

The specific failure was the destruction of the seals that are intended to prevent hot gases from leaking through the joint during the propellant burn of the rocket motor. The evidence assembled by the Commission indicates that no other element of the Space Shuttle system contributed to this failure."

The video below is from CNN's coverage.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/space_shuttle_challenger_explo.html


--
It's better to burn out than fade away.