The Challenger Space Shuttle Explosion
Challenger Space Shuttle Explosion The Challenger Space Shuttle, one of the most anticipated shuttle launches, was the first mission to ever include a teacher astronaut. Christa McAuliffe, the teacher that was going on the shuttle along with six others, was supposed to broadcast lessons around the country from space. Sadly, all the excitement and joy came to an end shortly after the launch. The mission marked the first time American astronauts lost their lives. One of the worst disasters of manned spaceflight is the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion(Challenger, 2008), which was caused by a combination of natural and man-made issues, and had a permanent effect on safety and regulations of manned spaceflight. The mission had been rescheduled
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By 64 seconds into the launch, the fire had burned a large hole into the casing of the booster. At 72 seconds, the strut that attached the booster to the external tank had loosened. Michael Smith, the pilot of the Challenger uttered “Uh oh,” his last known words (Challenger, 2008). That was the only evidence that anyone onboard suspected any sort of trouble. At 73 seconds, the loosened booster rocket, smashed into the tip of the right wing, then it crashed into the fuel tank, setting off a massive explosion. Debris from the explosion were sent 20 miles above the earth. Burning fragments from the shuttle rained down on to the recovery operations for the next hour. Experts believe that the module had fallen back into the ocean at a speed of nearly 2,000 miles per hour. The cabin, which was sixteen feet high, had been compressed into a solid mass about half of its original …show more content…
One of the causes of the explosion was the temperature. The cold temperatures effected the O-rings and caused them to lose their sealing ability. When the O-rings are exposed to temperatures under 32 degrees, they stiffen and lose their resilience (D’Alto, 2004), causing them to lose their ability to properly seal. Another cause for it was that the Morton Thiokol had overruled their own engineers. If they had listened to their engineers and had waited to launch Challenger until the weather had warmed up, the explosion would have never happened. An effect from the explosion, was that NASA was required to come up with a new design for their shuttles, hoping to eliminate the chances of having another disaster like the
By 64 seconds into the launch, the fire had burned a large hole into the casing of the booster. At 72 seconds, the strut that attached the booster to the external tank had loosened. Michael Smith, the pilot of the Challenger uttered “Uh oh,” his last known words (Challenger, 2008). That was the only evidence that anyone onboard suspected any sort of trouble. At 73 seconds, the loosened booster rocket, smashed into the tip of the right wing, then it crashed into the fuel tank, setting off a massive explosion. Debris from the explosion were sent 20 miles above the earth. Burning fragments from the shuttle rained down on to the recovery operations for the next hour. Experts believe that the module had fallen back into the ocean at a speed of nearly 2,000 miles per hour. The cabin, which was sixteen feet high, had been compressed into a solid mass about half of its original …show more content…
One of the causes of the explosion was the temperature. The cold temperatures effected the O-rings and caused them to lose their sealing ability. When the O-rings are exposed to temperatures under 32 degrees, they stiffen and lose their resilience (D’Alto, 2004), causing them to lose their ability to properly seal. Another cause for it was that the Morton Thiokol had overruled their own engineers. If they had listened to their engineers and had waited to launch Challenger until the weather had warmed up, the explosion would have never happened. An effect from the explosion, was that NASA was required to come up with a new design for their shuttles, hoping to eliminate the chances of having another disaster like the