| Space Shuttle Challenger |
Article Index for Space Shuttle |
Articles about Space Shuttle Challenger |
Website Links For Space Shuttle |
Information AboutSpace Shuttle Challenger |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER | |
| manned spacecraft | |
| space shuttles | |
| challenger | |
| engineering failures | |
| space program fatalities | |
| history of the united states 1980–1988 | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' ( orbiter to be put into service, after ''Columbia'' . Its maiden voyage was on April 4 , 1983 , and it made eight further round trips to Low Earth Orbit before breaking up 73 seconds into the launch of its tenth mission, on January 28 , 1986 . (For more on the ''Challenger'' disaster, see STS-51-L .) It would later be replaced by the space shuttle '' Endeavour '', which would be launched six years after the 51-L disaster. ''Challenger'' was constructed using a body frame (STA-099) that had initially been built as a test article. STA-099 had not been meant for spaceflight, but NASA discovered that recycling it would be cheaper than refitting the test shuttle ''Enterprise'' (OV-101) to be spaceworthy, as originally planned. The spacecraft was named after a British Corvette which carried out a Pioneering Global Marine Research Expedition in the 1870s {Link without Title} . ''Challenger'' was one of two space shuttles destroyed in an accident during a mission, the other being '' Columbia ''. The collected debris of the vessel is currently stored in decommissioned Missile Silos at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . From time to time, further pieces of debris from the orbiter wash up on the Florida coast. When this happens, they are collected and transported to the silos for storage. FLIGHTS Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' flew 10 flights, spent 62.41 days in space, completed 995 orbits, and flew 25,803,940 miles (it is unknown whether these are nautical or statute miles; 41,527,416 km if statute) in total, including its final mission. LOSS OF CHALLENGER Main article: Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster The ''Challenger'' catastrophe was one of the most dramatic historical events to take place in the United States during the 1980s. In the days after the accident millions participated in candlelight vigils across the United States. Then president Ronald Reagan addressed the nation and honored the seven astronauts killed as "heroes." Perhaps the most notable astronaut was Christa McAuliffe , a New Hampshire School Teacher . The other astronauts were Francis R. Scobee (shuttle commander), Gregory B. Jarvis , Ronald E. McNair , Ellison S. Onizuka , Judith A. Resnik , and Michael J. Smith . It was later discovered by NASA engineers and a separate panel of scientists commissioned by President Reagan that the vehicle actually broke up during the launch due to the failure of rubber seals in the booster engines called "O rings" that failed to seal properly. Subsequently, NASA adopted much stricter safety standards for shuttle missions. Shuttle missions resumed in September, 1988. SEE ALSO
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EXTERNAL LINKS
|