National Geographic Channel will be showing a documentary this week about STS-51L. It is titled "Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes". It apparently uses cinema verite techniques (no narrator, no interviews, no recreations) to factually explain the event using previously unseen archival footage.http://www.natgeotv.com.au/tv/challenger-disaster-lost-tapes/http://natgeotv.com/uk/challenger-disaster-lost-tapes/aboutLink to trailer: http://tinyurl.com/zgkc7cx
Where was everyone when it happened? I was just a little kid, but I remember the newsflash as it interupted a kids show I was watching.
...I saw that last night. Wasn't really impressed with it. It just basically showed the time leading up to the launch,the pick of Christa as the first teacher and tried to explain why Challenger exploded - which was because of two factors: The temperature at launch and the failure of the O-Rings to do their job and seal the insides of the SRBs like they were supposed to....
.....at any point during the launch and flight of Challenger that anything was wrong? Has it ever been published as to what the crew experienced when the accident happened? I know that sounds morbid and probably is.....but it's something I've always been curious about.
“I often say that we were tremendously excited, the whole bunch of us were tremendously excited that we were kind of on this major interstate highway moving toward the heavens,” says June Scobee Rodgers, remembering Jan. 28, 1986, the day her husband, Cmdr. Dick Scobee, boarded the Challenger space shuttle.“And then this terrible, numbing accident happened,” she says. “And he just kept on going toward heaven. And he left me dangling at the edge of that highway.”
30 years later, Challenger widow tells her storyArticle and videohttps://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/30-years-later-challenger-widow-tells-her-story-140818583.htmlQuote“I often say that we were tremendously excited, the whole bunch of us were tremendously excited that we were kind of on this major interstate highway moving toward the heavens,” says June Scobee Rodgers, remembering Jan. 28, 1986, the day her husband, Cmdr. Dick Scobee, boarded the Challenger space shuttle.“And then this terrible, numbing accident happened,” she says. “And he just kept on going toward heaven. And he left me dangling at the edge of that highway.”
Had the windshear not been present, would the accident possibly have been avoided?
Chris Gebhardt's article to mark the 30th anniversary:http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/01/the-challenger-seven-remembered-51l/
Quote from: hygoex on 01/28/2016 12:12 amHad the windshear not been present, would the accident possibly have been avoided?No.At ignition of the SRBs, the O-ring joint of the key Solid Rocket Booster immediately failed, blowing hot gases through to begin the degradation of the rest of the seals. It temporarily sealed itself for a few seconds before it reopened and became a blowtorch that tore out the bottom of the External Tank. This is shown in both video and stills of a black puff of smoke at the affected area.In any case, once the SRBs are ignited, there were no abort options for the launch vehicle until SRB separation. From my understanding, an Orbiter attempting to break from the ET while under SRB power would shatter its airframe just as Challenger did on ET detonation.
Thanks, Hog. There was an earlier flight with a O-ring blowback that did reseal itself and stay resealed, right?
ET detonation.