NASA SPACE DISCOVERY TV

“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.” “Challenger and her crew live on in the hearts and memories of both NASA and the nation,” said Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro. The agency also created the Apollo Challenger Columbia Lessons Learned Program to share these lessons within the agency and with other government, public, commercial, and international audiences. NASA created an Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, developed new risk assessment procedures, and established an environment in which everyone can raise safety concerns.

The loss of Challenger, and later Columbia with its seven astronauts – which broke up on reentry in February 2003 over the western United States – greatly influenced NASA’s culture regarding safety. Despite concerns raised by some shuttle program employees, managers cleared the mission for launch, with liftoff occurring at 11:38 a.m. While the spacecraft waited overnight on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a cold front brought freezing temperatures, causing ice to form on the shuttle. The launch was scheduled as the agency’s 25th shuttle mission. An agency investigation later showed unexpectedly cold temperatures affected the integrity of O-ring seals in the solid rocket booster segment joints. Christa McAuliffe.Ī major malfunction 73 seconds after liftoff resulted in the loss of Challenger and the seven astronauts aboard. The other crew members on board were mission specialists Ronald E. The last Challenger mission, dubbed STS-51L, was commanded by Francis R. NASA’s STS-51L crew members pose for photographs on January 9, 1986, during a break in countdown training at the White Room, Launch Complex 39, Pad B.

(Although many of the space shuttle’s thermal protection tiles are black-coated High-Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation tiles which are 6 inches square, the white-coated Low-Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation tiles measure 8 inches long on each side.) The proximity to the Florida Space Coast, along with the item’s modern construction and presence of 8-inch square tiles, led the documentary team to contact NASA. Their divers noticed a large humanmade object covered partially by sand on the seafloor.

NASA SPACE DISCOVERY TV

Recently, NASA leaders viewed footage of an underwater dive off the East coast of Florida, and they confirm it depicts an artifact from the space shuttle Challenger.Ī TV documentary crew seeking the wreckage of a World War II-era aircraft discovered the artifact. On January 28, 1986, Challenger’s service to America’s space program ended in tragedy when a booster failure caused an explosion that resulted in the loss of seven astronauts, as well as the vehicle, just 73 seconds into mission STS 51-L. The STS-51L mission clears the tower at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 28, 1986.

Nasa space discovery