On January 28, 1986 a quest with special significance for the space shuttle Challenger ended in disaster. The Challenger devastation marked the first time astronauts lost their lives during a quest in two-and-a-half decades of manned spaceflight. The anniversary of the Challenger devastation lies in the middle of a one-week span in which NASA is remembering three of the space programs fatal disasters. There isn’t a personal loan big enough to brush this devastation under the rug.
A memorable heartbreaking instant
Many people were upset with the Challenger devastation. It is even worse when you consider 37-year-old Christa McAuliffe, who was a high school educator, was on board when it happened. Of 11,000 teachers, Christa McAuliffe was selected to ride with National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The "Teacher in Space Program" was why she was on board at all. About 73 seconds after takeoff, the space shuttle broke because the Challenger's external fuel tank exploded. Everybody died including six astronauts and McAuliffe. Most in America remember the Challenger catastrophe as an event frozen in time. It is exactly like November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Memories were burned into people's brains that day remembering where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
What really occurred with the Challenger
A misconception about the Challenger disaster is that the space shuttle exploded. The only reason why the Challenger "explosion" is known is because of the media. The huge bullet-shaped structure that looked rust color under the Challenger was the external fuel tank that collapsed. What was within the tank just exploded. There was 1.5 million gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in there when it occurred giving a fireball effect. The space shuttle continued to go up even though the shuttle's rocket boosters blew off in both directions. But intense aerodynamic forces ripped it apart. The astronauts were likely alive until the crew cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean at more than 200 miles per hour.
Anniversaries of space disasters
Right after the Apollo 1 accident that occurred on January 27, 1967, 44 years ago, the Challenger disaster's 25th anniversary was commemorated. The first prepared mission of the Apollo program to the moon resulted in tragedy a month before its scheduled launch. During a mission test, there was a fire within the space capsule causing Virgin "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee. Then, seven astronauts perished on February 1, 2003, on the space shuttle Columbia. When coming back into orbit, the heat resistant tiles failed meaning it streaked over Texas in disintegration.
Information from
Space.com
space.com/10708-shuttle-challenger-anniversary-nasa-lessons.html
National Geographic
nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/pictures/110127-challenger-disaster-space-shuttle-25th-anniversary-myths-science-nasa/
Wikipedia
space.about.com/cs/challenger/a/challenger.htm
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe
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