Space is an airless space, the temperature of which is up to -270 ° . In such an aggressive environment, a person cannot survive, therefore astronauts always risk their lives, rushing into the unknown blackness of the Universe. In the process of studying space, there were many disasters that claimed dozens of lives. One of such tragic milestones in the history of astronautics was the death of the Challenger shuttle, which killed all crew members.
Briefly about the ship
In 1967, the United States launched NASA's billion-dollar Space Transport System program at NASA. Within its framework, in 1971, construction began on reusable spacecraft - space shuttles (Space Shuttle in English, which literally translates as “space shuttle”). It was planned that these shuttles will shuttle between the Earth and orbit, like shuttles, rising to a height of up to 500 km. They should have come in handy for delivering payloads to orbital stations, performing the necessary installation and construction works, and conducting scientific research.
One of these ships was the Challenger shuttle, the second space shuttle built under this program. In July 1982, it was transferred to NASA for operation.
It got its name in honor of a sea vessel exploring the ocean in the 1870s. In directories, NASA was listed as an OV-99 device.
Flight history
For the first time, the space shuttle Challenger took off in April 1983 to launch a broadcast satellite. In June of the same year, it restarted to launch two communication satellites into orbit and conduct pharmaceutical experiments. One of the crew members was the first American female cosmonaut Sally Kristen Ryde.
August 1983 - the third launch of the shuttle and the first night in the history of American astronautics. As a result, the Insat-1B telecommunications satellite was put into orbit and the Canadian “Canadaarm” manipulator was tested. The flight duration was 6 days with a short one.
In February 1984, the Challenger shuttle again went into space, but the mission to launch two more satellites into orbit was failed.
The fifth start took place in April 1984. Then, for the first time in world history, a satellite was repaired in space. In October 1984, the sixth launch took place, which was marked by the presence on board the spacecraft of two female astronauts. During this significant flight, the first woman in the history of American cosmonautics entered space, Catherine Sullivan.
The seventh flight in April 1985, the eighth in July and the ninth flight in October this year were also successful. They were united by a common goal - to conduct research in the space laboratory.
The tenth launch on January 28, 1986 became fatal for the shuttle and crew.
In total, the Challenger accounted for 9 successful flights, it stayed in space for 69 days, completed a full revolution around the blue planet 987 times, its "mileage" - 41.5 million kilometers.
The crash of the shuttle Challenger
The tragedy occurred near the coast of Florida 01/28/1986 at 11 hours 39 minutes. At this time, the Challenger shuttle exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. It collapsed at the 73rd second of the flight at an altitude of 14 km from the ground. Killed all 7 crew members.
At start, the O-ring of the right solid-fuel accelerator was damaged. From this, a hole burned out in the side of the accelerator, from which a jet stream flew towards the outer fuel tank. The jet destroyed the tail mount and the supporting structures of the tank itself. Elements of the ship shifted, which broke the symmetry of traction and air resistance. The spacecraft deviated from the given axis of flight, as a result it was destroyed under the influence of aerodynamic overloads.
The Space Shuttle Challenger was not equipped with an evacuation system, so crew members had no chance of survival. But even if such a system existed, astronauts would fall into the ocean at a speed of more than 300 km / h. The force of impact on the water would be such that no one would survive anyway.
Last crew
During the 10th launch, the Challenger shuttle had seven people on board:
- Francis Richard "Dick" Scobey - 46 years old, crew commander. American military pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel, NASA astronaut. He left his wife, daughter and son. Posthumously awarded the medal "For Space Flight".
- Michael John Smith - 40 years old, co-pilot. Test pilot with the rank of captain, NASA astronaut. He left a wife and three children. Posthumously awarded the medal "For Space Flight".
- Allison Shoji Onizuka - 39 years old, scientific specialist. American NASA astronaut of Japanese descent, test pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Posthumously he was awarded the rank of colonel.
- Judith Arlen Reznik - 36 years old, scientific specialist. One of NASA's best engineers and astronauts. Professional aviator.
- Ronald Erwin McNair - 35 years old, scientific specialist. Physicist, NASA astronaut. On Earth, left a wife and two children. He was posthumously awarded the medal "For Space Flight".
- Gregory Bruce Jarvis - 41 years old, payload specialist. An engineer by training. Captain of the US Air Force. Since 1984, NASA astronaut. He left his wife and three children at home. He was posthumously awarded the medal "For Space Flight".
- Sharon Krista Corrigan Macauliffe, 37, Payload Specialist. Civil. Posthumously awarded the Space Medal - the highest US award for astronauts.
About the last crew member, Krista McAuliffe should say a little more. How could a civilian get on the space shuttle Challenger? It seems unbelievable.
Krista McAuliffe
She was born on September 2, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked as a teacher of English, history and biology. She was married and had two children.
Her life flowed habitually and measuredly, until in 1984 in the USA the competition "Teacher in Space" was announced. His idea was to prove that every young and healthy person after adequate preparation will be able to successfully fly into space and return to Earth. Among the 11,000 applications filed was a statement from Krista, a fun, cheerful, and energetic teacher from Boston.
She won the competition. When Vice President George W. Bush (senior) handed her the winner's ticket at a ceremony in the White House, she burst into tears of happiness. It was a one way ticket.
After a three-month training, experts recognized Krista ready for flight. She was instructed to remove educational subjects and to conduct several lessons from the shuttle.
Preflight problems
Initially, in the process of preparing the tenth launch of the space shuttle, there were many problems:
- Initially, the launch was planned to be held on January 22 from the J. Kennedy Cosmodrome. But due to organizational turmoil, the start was moved first to 23, and then to January 24.
- Due to the storm warning and low temperatures, the flight was postponed for another day.
- Again, due to poor weather forecast, the start was postponed to January 27.
- During the next inspection of the equipment, several problems were revealed, so it was decided to set a new flight date - January 28.
On the morning of January 28, there was frost on the street, the temperature dropped to -1 ° C. This caused concern among the engineers, and in a private conversation they warned NASA management that extreme conditions could adversely affect the condition of the o-rings and recommended that the launch date be rescheduled. But these recommendations were rejected. Another difficulty arose: the launch pad was icy. It was an insurmountable obstacle, but, "fortunately", by 10 am the ice began to thaw. The start was scheduled for 11 hours and 40 minutes. It was broadcast on national television. All of America watched the events at the spaceport.
Shuttle Challenger Launch and Crash
At 11 38 hours the engines started to work. After 2 minutes, the device started. After 7 seconds, gray smoke burst from the base of the right accelerator, a ground-based survey of the flight recorded this. The reason for this was the impact of shock during engine starting. This has happened before, with the main sealing ring working, which provided reliable insulation of the systems. But that morning was cold, so the frozen ring lost its elasticity and could not work as expected. This was the cause of the disaster.
At 58 seconds of flight, the Challenger shuttle, a photo of which is in the article, began to collapse. After 6 seconds, liquid hydrogen began to flow out of the external tank; after another 2 seconds, the pressure in the external fuel tank dropped to a critical level.
At 73 seconds of flight, the liquid oxygen tank collapsed. Oxygen and hydrogen detonated, and the Challenger disappeared into a huge fireball.
Search for the remains of the ship and the bodies of the dead
After the explosion, the fragments of the shuttle fell into the Atlantic Ocean. The US Department of Defense, with support from the Coast Guard, took up the search for the wreckage of the spacecraft and the bodies of dead astronauts. On March 7, at the bottom of the ocean, they found a shuttle cabin with the bodies of crew members. Due to the prolonged exposure to sea water, the autopsy could not establish the exact cause of death. However, it was possible to find out after the explosion the astronauts remained alive, since their cabin was simply torn off from the tail. Michael Smith, Allison Onizuka and Judith Resnick remained conscious and turned on the personal air supply. Most likely, the astronauts could not survive the gigantic force of impact on the water.
On May 1, the search for the shuttle fragments was completed; 55% of the shuttle was managed to get out of the ocean.
Investigation of the causes of the tragedy
An internal investigation into all the circumstances of the NASA disaster was carried out under the stamp of strictest secrecy. To understand all the details of the case and find out the reasons behind the fall of the Challenger shuttle, US President Reagan created a special Rogers Commission (named after Chairman William Pierce Rogers). Its composition included prominent scientists, space and aircraft engineers, astronauts and the military.
A few months later, the Rogers Commission provided the president with a report that disclosed all the circumstances that led to the Challenger shuttle crash. It was also indicated that NASA management had inadequately responded to warnings from specialists about the security problems of the planned flight.
Crash consequences
The crash of the Challenger shuttle dealt a severe blow to the reputation of the United States, and the Space Transport System program was shut down for 3 years. Because of the largest spacecraft accident at that time, the United States suffered losses ($ 8 billion).
Significant changes were made to the design of the shuttles, significantly increasing their safety.
The structure of NASA was also reorganized. An independent safety oversight agency has been established.
Display in culture
In May 2013, the movie directed by J. Howes "Challenger" was released. In Britain, she was named the best dramatic film of the year. Its plot is based on real events and concerns the activities of the Rogers Commission.