N.A.S.A and its Crashes

The Challenger Crash


Crash Video
Scroll to right to see video on website.It is under 1986, "7 die in challenger explosion."

Challenger Disaster, this accident that destroyed the United States space shuttle Challenger, 73 seconds after takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986. The crew“mission commander Francis R. Scobee; pilot Michael J. Smith; mission specialists Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, and Judith A. Resnik; and payload specialists Gregory B. Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from New Hampshire“died in the accident. Following the incident, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special commission to investigate the cause of the accident and to develop corrective measures based on the commission's findings. The commission was headed by former secretary of state William Rogers and included former astronaut Neil Armstrong and former test pilot Chuck Yeager. It found fault with a failed sealant ring and with the officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who allowed the launch to take place despite concerns voiced by NASA engineers. According to the commission's report, the disaster was caused by the failure of an "O-ring" seal in the solid-fuel rocket on the shuttle's right side. The seal's faulty design and the unusually cold weather, which affected the seal's functioning, allowed hot gases to leak through the joint. Flames from inside the booster rocket escaped through the failed seal and enlarged the small hole. The flames then burned through the shuttle's external fuel tank and through one of the supports that attached the booster to the side of the tank. The booster broke loose and collided with the tank, piercing the tank's side. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuels from the tank and booster mixed and ignited, causing the shuttle to tear apart. The shuttle launch program was halted during the commission's investigation and was not resumed until shuttle designers made several technical modifications and NASA management implemented stricter regulations regarding quality control and safety. Shuttle missions resumed on September 28, 1988, with the flight of the shuttle Discovery.
Then, on January 28, 1986, disaster struck. The shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing its seven-member crew, which included schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe (see Challenger Disaster). The tragedy shocked the nation and brought the shuttle program to a halt while a presidential commission tried to determine what had gone wrong. The Challenger disaster was traced to a faulty seal in one of the solid rocket boosters, and to faulty decision making by NASA and some of the contractors who manufacture shuttle components. After making several safety modifications, shuttle flights resumed in 1988.

The Crew of The Challenger Crash


Jarvis, Gregory B. (1944-1986), United States astronaut and satellite design expert. Jarvis was one of seven astronauts to die in the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
McAuliffe, Sharon Christa Corrigan (1948-1986), United States astronaut and teacher. McAuliffe was one of seven crew members who perished in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
McNair, Ronald Erwin (1950-1986), United States astronaut and physicist. McNair was one of seven crew members killed in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Onizuka, Ellison S. (1946-1986), United States astronaut, aerospace engineer, and test pilot. Onizuka was the first Japanese American and the first person from Hawaii to go into space. He flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery on a classified military mission in 1985. Onizuka died on his second mission, along with six other astronauts, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded after takeoff on January 28, 1986.
Resnik, Judith Arlene (1949-1986), American astronaut and electrical engineer, who became the second American woman (after astronaut Sally Ride) to fly in space, in 1984 (see Space Exploration). On her second spaceflight, on January 28, 1986, Resnik died with six other crew members in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Scobee, Francis Richard (1939-1986), United States astronaut and pilot. An experienced jet pilot and veteran of one successful space shuttle mission, Scobee was the commander of the space shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed in a midair explosion shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986.
Smith, Michael J. (1945-1986), United States astronaut and pilot. An experienced aircraft pilot, Smith was on his first flight to space when he and six other astronauts were killed in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, 73 seconds after it launched on January 28, 1986.

On January 28, 1986, Challenger and its crew were destroyed shortly after launch. The failure of an O-ring seal of a joint on one of the SRBs was the primary cause of the Challenger loss. SRBs are constructed in four cylindrical sections that must be sealed together completely to prevent the escape of the intensely hot by-products of the burning fuel during launch. O-rings are rubber rings that play a crucial part in ensuring the seal. The cold weather on the launch day made the rubber of an O-ring on the joint between the bottom two segments of the right SRB brittle, which, combined with the faulty design of the joint, allowed hot gases from the burning solid rocket fuel to escape. The gases and flames burned through the metal holding the rocket in position. When the rocket broke loose, it ruptured the side of the external fuel tank, allowing the liquid hydrogen and oxygen to mix prematurely and explode.


Information from Microsoft's Encarta 1999.Other information from AbCnews.com.