What caused the Challenger tragedy?
The immediate cause of the Challenger disaster was the failure of two rubber O-rings to seal a joint between the two lower segments of the right-hand solid rocket booster . This failure was due to severe cold, and it opened a path for hot exhaust gas to escape from inside the booster during the shuttle’s ascent.What were the last words of the Challenger crew?
Previously, the last known words from the Challenger were those heard from Commander Dick Scobee to ground controllers, when he responded ″ Roger, go at throttle up ,″ confirming that the shuttle’s main engines had been raised to full power.Did they recover the bodies from Challenger?
In March 1986, the remains of the astronauts were found in the debris of the crew cabin. Though all of the important pieces of the shuttle were retrieved by the time NASA closed its Challenger investigation in 1986 , most of the spacecraft remained in the Atlantic Ocean.What happened during the Challenger tragedy?
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a fatal accident in the United States space program that occurred on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the death of all seven crew members aboard ; it was the first fatal accident involving an American …How big was the O-ring that failed on the Challenger?
The O-ring on the Challenger happened to be 12 feet in overall diameter . At launch, there is high pressure inside the solid rocket boosters as the igniters light the fuel. That pressure caused the pieces holding the O-ring to flex slightly.Who was at fault for the Challenger disaster?
Bob Ebeling