At the Kennedy Center, McDonald receives phone call from Ebeling expressing concerns from Morton Thiokol engineers about the effects of cold temperatures on rocket booster seals. In Utah, Ebeling informs Boisjoly and other Morton Thiokol engineers about cold temperatures at Cape Canaveral.Ĥ p.m. In a management team meeting, expected launch-time temperatures are discussed by Lucas, Moore, Aldrich and Mulloy.Ģ:30 p.m. Thiokol's Ebeling is contacted in Utah to prepare an engineering evaluation.Ģ p.m. NASA asks Morton Thiokol if the company is concerned about cold temperatures predicted overnight at the launching pad. (all times EST) - Minutes after scrubbing Challenger's launching because of wind conditions, NASA resets it for 9:38 a.m. Here is the account of those discussions, as chronicled by the presidential commission on the Challenger disaster. 28, 1986 launching debating whether cold weather would interfere with the functioning of the boosters' all-important O-rings. Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and executives and engineers of Morton Thiokol Inc., which built the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters, spent much of the 24 hours before the Jan. “Today, as we turn our sights again toward the Moon and Mars, we see that the same love of exploration that drove the Challenger crew is still inspiring the astronauts of today’s Artemis Generation, calling them to build on the legacy of knowledge and discovery for the benefit of all humanity.The space shuttle Challenger takes off from the Kennedy Space Center. “Challenger and her crew live on in the hearts and memories of both NASA and the nation,” said Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center. The launch was scheduled to be NASA’s 25th shuttle mission, while the disaster and subsequent Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy were integral in influencing NASA’s culture around safety, the agency said. At NASA, the core value of safety is – and must forever remain – our top priority, especially as our missions explore more of the cosmos than ever before.” “This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us. 28, 1986, still feels like yesterday,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a release. For millions around the globe, myself included, Jan. “While it has been nearly 37 years since seven daring and brave explorers lost their lives aboard Challenger, this tragedy will forever be seared in the collective memory of our country. Its distinctive square tiles led the divers to believe they had found a piece of the Challenger’s underbelly, an area coated with the squares to protect it from heat upon returning to the earth’s atmosphere. The debris is the first to be recovered since pieces of the shuttle washed up on a beach in 1996. law dictates all space shuttle artifacts are U.S. NASA is considering next steps for the artifact to honor the legacy of those who died in the tragedy. This led to a gas leak, causing the major malfunction. Investigations later revealed an unexpected cold front affected a seal on the solid rocket booster segment joints. McAuliffe was an elementary school teacher set to become the first civilian to enter space. Scobee commanded the mission, and it was piloted by Michael J. The disaster was broadcast live on televisions across the country.įrancis R. On the morning of Jan 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle orbiter launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., but exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven passengers aboard. This week, NASA confirmed the origins of the artifact in a release.įootage of the discovery can be seen on the History Channel’s Twitter account.Īmerica is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. Footage of the wreckage was captured in May and the team contacted the space administration in August. Instead, divers came upon a 20-foot long piece of debris with a modern construction and square tiles. The discovery was made by a documentary crew that set out in search of a World War II-era aircraft as part of a new series called “The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters.” NASA confirmed a sunken artifact from the Challenger Space Shuttle was found off the east coast of Florida. The artifact is the first debris from the wreck to be discovered since 1996. In 1986, the shuttle malfunctioned seconds after takeoff, killing all seven passengers aboard.Documentarians found a 20-foot piece of debris from the Challenger Space Shuttle off the coast of Florida.
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