Author Topic: Challenger STS-51L  (Read 166327 times)

Offline Jim

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #200 on: 02/01/2016 04:50 pm »
In the TV movie Challenger which I just looked at again, during the break in the pre-launch meeting with Thiokol, Cecil Houston got a call from the Coast Guard saying the booster recovery ships were in a "full gale" and headed back to port.  Any truth to this? 

no

Offline Jim

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #201 on: 02/01/2016 04:50 pm »
Hypothetical question here and I apologize if this has been answered but I've searched and cannot find an answer to this.  I know that the SRBs continued to fire until they were destroyed by the SRO.  It only just occurred to me, what if the burn through had occurred in a "safer" location (ie. away from the ET and shuttle), could the shuttle have made it to SRB SEP?  I know that the shuttle engine gimbals and SRB gimbals had already started reacting to the SRB thrust asymmetry, but at what point would they have not been able to keep control of the stack?

unknown

Offline Paul Howard

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #202 on: 08/04/2016 01:29 pm »
Any plans to name any of the Orions after the fallen orbiters?

Offline Jim

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #203 on: 08/04/2016 01:37 pm »
Why? They are Orion.

Offline WBY1984

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #204 on: 08/25/2016 10:37 am »
How did the flames even reach the damaged joint? Isn't there a wall of unburned propellant between the hot combustion gasses and the joint, right up until burnout?

Offline Jim

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #205 on: 08/25/2016 11:53 am »
How did the flames even reach the damaged joint? Isn't there a wall of unburned propellant between the hot combustion gasses and the joint, right up until burnout?

Not at the joints. Do a google search on the joint.

Online edkyle99

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #206 on: 02/07/2017 02:27 am »
I worked STS-51L payload processing and was an eyewitness to the 1986 disaster.  The accident literally changed my life, steering me toward where I am today. 

This photo from ISS, and the story behind it, just floored me when I read it today.  My wife, a middle school teacher, said "wow" when she read the story.  (She usually doesn't say "wow" when I show her something space-related!)

http://www.collectspace.com//news/news-020617a-challenger-soccer-ball-space-station.html

#NASARemembers indeed.

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 02/07/2017 02:30 am by edkyle99 »

Online catdlr

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #207 on: 06/24/2017 12:55 am »
STS-51L Challenger - Multi Angle Launch Footage


lunarmodule5
Published on Jun 23, 2017

STS-51L multi-launch angle coverage with audio from ABC Radio



Tony De La Rosa, ...I'm no Feline Dealer!! I move mountains.  but I'm better known for "I think it's highly sexual." Japanese to English Translation.

Offline Proponent

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #208 on: 11/01/2017 04:04 pm »
During the Senate hearing just concluded on (among others) Rep. Brindenstine's nomination as NASA administrator, Sen. Nelson made what I believe to be a garbled reference to the Challenger accident.  Bashing Brindenstine's non-technical background, he said that the last time NASA lost a crew it was under the leadership of a non-technical administrator.  So far, so accurate:  Columbia was lost while accountant Sean O'Keefe was running NASA.  But Nelson then went on to talk about James Beggs, who was NASA administrator in the early and mid-1980s.  Sometime before the loss of Columbia, in what was described as a temporary move, Beggs stepped aside to defend himself against corruption charges related to an early position he had held at a defense contractor (and not only was eventually acquitted but received an apology from the government).

The point is that on the day of Challenger's fatal launch, Beggs was technically the administrator, but William Graham was acting administrator.  Nelson claimed that Beggs, being aware of the low temperatures at the Cape, called NASA and begged it to cancel the launch.  Is that true?

It's odd that Nelson would get his facts wrong on this, since the Challenger accident followed his own Shuttle flight so closely.  I'd have thought the events of the time would be very clear in his mind, especially since his mistake only muddies his claim that non-technical NASA leadership is dangerous.

EDIT:  For consistency, italicized all occurrences of Challenger and Columbia
« Last Edit: 05/21/2021 03:57 pm by Proponent »

Online abaddon

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #209 on: 06/29/2018 07:07 pm »
I worked STS-51L payload processing and was an eyewitness to the 1986 disaster.  The accident literally changed my life, steering me toward where I am today. 

This photo from ISS, and the story behind it, just floored me when I read it today.  My wife, a middle school teacher, said "wow" when she read the story.  (She usually doesn't say "wow" when I show her something space-related!)

http://www.collectspace.com//news/news-020617a-challenger-soccer-ball-space-station.html

#NASARemembers indeed.

 - Ed Kyle
ESPN is running a front-page story today that is a new article on the same topic: http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/23902766/nasa-astronaut-ellison-onizuka-soccer-ball-survived-challenger-explosion.

Looks like there will be an E:60 (ESPN's hour-long documentary format) presentation airing July 1st.
« Last Edit: 06/29/2018 07:11 pm by abaddon »

Offline penguin44

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #210 on: 01/29/2019 05:32 am »
I am still emotionally wrecked by this event 33 years later. My heart pounds and hands shake. Our class watched it launch on tv. Myself and a few other students were really into the shuttle since day 1. We were 9 at the time of this accident. The three of us knew that was an odd thing before the reports came in. We said it was bad and we just were told that we were nerds.

Offline woods170

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #211 on: 03/07/2019 07:43 pm »
The last flight of Challenger before the fateful STS-51L mission was STS-61A, a Spacelab mission known as D1. Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels flew on STS-61A for ESA.
As with all astronauts who had ever flown on the shuttle, prior to STS-51L, Wubbo was sent a copy of the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident.

It was from this report that Wubbo (and many other astronauts) learned that on previous missions (such as STS-61A) substantial failures of the SRB O-rings had occurred.
Many years ago Wubbo donated his personal copy of the report to the NRM museum where I work as a volunteer. We have several copies of the report in our collection and we are in the process of selling off most of the duplicates.
By sheer incident I managed to get my hands on the copy that had once belonged to Wubbo Ockels. His signature is still in it, but smeared pretty badly. That's what you get when putting a signature on smooth paper with a fountain pen: smearing.
Like many copies of the report it is in a bad condition. Getting the thing printed back in 1986 has clearly been a rush job. The glued spine of the paperback is crumbling to dust and already half of the pages have let go of the spine.
Somehow, reading this beat-up copy of the report made much more of an impact on me than did reading of the digital copy of the report that is available on the internet.
Having tangible stuff from that dreadful year in spaceflight makes the Challenger tragedy all the more real for me.
« Last Edit: 03/07/2019 07:44 pm by woods170 »

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #212 on: 11/06/2020 01:41 pm »
Blog post by Astronaut Rhea Seddon


After Challenger

After Challenger With the renewed interest about the Challenger accident from the Netflix series, I’ve been asked about what happened afterward. Reflecting on the aftermath of the accident has given me time for introspection.

Everyone knows about the Rogers Commission which determined that a leaking O-ring on one of the boosters was the cause of the loss of Challenger and that the problem could be fixed. One thing that could not be fixed was the loss of so many dear friends and the havoc it wreaked on their families for the rest of their lives.

https://astronautrheaseddon.com/after-challenger/?utm_source=General&utm_campaign=dfced84f3e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_22_06_34_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af9ffdfd4c-dfced84f3e-269894581&mc_cid=dfced84f3e&mc_eid=afde2542b5
Jacques :-)

Offline Kit344

Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #213 on: 01/10/2021 11:02 am »
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 was serving with the Royal Air Force in Germany as an avionics technician.
I was taking a German evening class at the station education centre.
When I came out of the class, I turned on my car radio, and was listening to the BFBS Radio station in English.
I had to wait for a few minutes for the car windows to demist or defrost.
I think I got out of the car and quickly passed the news on to a few others that had just come from the classes.

Offline penguin44

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #214 on: 01/11/2021 05:00 am »
Was in the gym at my school. I was 9.

Offline JAFO

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #215 on: 01/12/2021 06:29 am »
Managing a K-B Toy store in California. Forgot there was a launch, saw the replay when I got out of the shower while getting ready to go in to work. Came in, told my crew to pull every Shuttle toy we had to the front and just stack them by the register. They didn't think I was serious until we opened the gate and parents with crying kids started flowing in, we sold out by 2pm. I went home early and got a bottle of tequila on the way.


Still one of the most elegant memorial magazine covers ever.
« Last Edit: 01/12/2021 06:38 am by JAFO »
Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.
— Ernest K. Gann

Offline JAFO

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #216 on: 01/15/2021 07:01 am »
Don't forget the dolphins.

Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.
— Ernest K. Gann

Offline Moonwatcher

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #217 on: 01/28/2021 03:12 am »
I was working on the shuttle program at LC-39 before and after Challenger’s last flight. This week I made an appearance on my friend’s podcast to talk about the experience, and I thought people here at NSF might be interested in listening to it.

Ep 19: Slipping the Surly Bonds of Earth
https://bufnagle.buzzsprout.com/1338037/7463581

- Bob

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #218 on: 01/28/2021 09:36 am »
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Challenger STS-51L
« Reply #219 on: 01/28/2021 03:45 pm »
Thomas Pesquet (post from 2017)

Challenger

Je ne poste pas souvent pour les anniversaires d'évènements, mais celui-là est un double symbole. D'abord il convient de se rappeler que l'exploration spatiale est risquée, et a parfois coûté des vies, comme celles de l'équipage de Challenger en 86. Ensuite, ce ballon a une histoire incroyable : il les a accompagnés à bord de la navette spatiale, a été retrouvé suite à l'accident, et est reparti dans l'espace 30 ans après en 2016, avec nous. Une manière d'honorer la résilience de l'être humain, une qualité dont on parle beaucoup ces temps-ci.

Soccer or space fans, this is a piece of history. This soccer ball was on the Space Shuttle Challenger on the tragic day of its accident, now 35 years ago on this day, and it somehow made it back to the ground in one piece. It flew back to space with Shane Kimbrough during our first mission together, to honour the fallen heroes of the crew. Today we think of our fellow astronauts who passed away 35 years ago. Space exploration is a risky endeavour, and our hearts are with the families and friends of those who put themselves in harm’s way for the advancement of mankind.

Credits: ESA/NASA
Jacques :-)

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