Space - airless space, the temperature in which is up to -270°С. In such an aggressive environment, a person cannot survive, so astronauts always risk their lives, rushing into the unknown blackness of the Universe. In the process of exploring space, there have been many catastrophes that have claimed dozens of lives. One of such tragic milestones in the history of astronautics was the death of the Challenger shuttle, which resulted in the death of all crew members.
Briefly about the ship
In 1967, the United States launched the $1 billion Space Transportation System program at NASA. Within its framework, in 1971, the construction of reusable spacecraft began - the space shuttles (in English Space Shuttle, which literally translates as "space shuttle"). It was planned that these shuttles would, like shuttles, run between the Earth and orbit, rising to altitude up to 500 km. They should have been useful for delivering payloads to orbital stations, performing the necessary installation and construction work, 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 commissioned by NASA.
It got its name in honor of a sea vessel that explored the ocean in the 1870s. NASA reference books listed it as OV-99.
Flight history
For the first time, the Challenger shuttle went into space in April 1983 to launch a broadcast satellite. In June of the same year, it launched again to launch two communication satellites into orbit and conduct pharmaceutical experiments. One of the crew members was the first American woman astronaut, Sally Kristen Reid.
August 1983 - the third shuttle launch and the first night launch in the history of American astronautics. As a result, the telecommunications satellite Insat-1B was launched into orbit and the Canadian manipulator "Canadarm" was tested. The flight duration was 6 days and a little.
In February 1984, the shuttle Challenger again took off into space, but the mission to put two more satellites into orbit failed.
The fifth launch 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 spaceship of two female astronauts. During this momentous flight, the first spacewalk of a woman was made in the history of American astronautics - Katherine Sullivan.
The seventh flight in April 1985, the eighth in July and the ninth flight in October of that year were also successful. They were united by a common goal - conducting research in the space laboratory.
The tenth launch on January 28, 1986 was fatal for the shuttle and crew members.
In total, the Challenger has 9 successful flights, he spent 69 days in space, 987 times made a complete orbit around the blue planet, his "mileage" is 41.5 million kilometers.
Crash of the shuttle "Challenger"
The tragedy occurred off the coast of Florida on January 28, 1986 at 11:39. At this time, the Challenger shuttle exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. It collapsed in the 73rd second of flight at an altitude of 14 km from the ground. All 7 crew members were killed.
When starting, the sealing ring of the right solid fuel booster was damaged. From this, a hole burned through in the side of the accelerator, from which a jet flew out towards the external fuel tank. The jet destroyed the tail mount and the supporting structures of the tank itself. The elements of the ship shifted, which broke the symmetry of thrust and air resistance. The spacecraft deviated from the given flight axis, as a result it was destroyed under the influence of aerodynamic overloads.
The Space Shuttle Challenger was not equippedevacuation system, so the crew members had no chance of survival. But even if there were such a system, the astronauts would fall into the ocean at a speed of more than 300 km / h. The force of the impact on the water would have been such that no one would have survived anyway.
Last crew
During the 10th launch, the Challenger shuttle had seven people on board:
- Francis Richard "Dick" Scobie - 46 years old, crew commander. American military pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel, NASA astronaut. He was survived by 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 behind 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 origin, test pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel.
- Judith Arlen Resnick - 36 years old, researcher. One of NASA's top engineers and astronauts. Professional pilot.
- Ronald Erwin McNair - 35 years old, scientific specialist. Physicist, NASA astronaut. He left behind his wife and two children. He was posthumously awarded the medal "For space flight".
- Gregory Bruce Jarvis - 41, payload specialist. An engineer by training. US Air Force Captain. NASA astronaut since 1984. He left his wife and three children at home. He was posthumously awarded the medal "For Spaceflight".
- Sharon Krista Corrigan McAuliffe - 37 years old, payload specialist. Civil. Posthumously awarded the Space Medal, the highest US award for astronauts.
A little more needs to be said about the latest crew member Christa McAuliffe. How could a civilian get on the Space Shuttle Challenger? It seems incredible.
Christa McAuliffe
She was born on 1948-02-09 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 the "Teacher in Space" contest was announced in the USA. His idea was to prove that every young and he althy person after adequate training will be able to successfully fly into space and return to Earth. Among the 11,000 submissions was Christa, a cheerful, upbeat 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 at the White House, she burst into tears of happiness. It was a one way ticket.
After three months of training, experts recognized Krista as ready to fly. She was instructed to shoot educational scenes and conduct several lessons from the shuttle.
Pre-flight problems
Initially, in the process of preparing the tenth launch of the space shuttle, there were many problems:
- Initially startplanned to spend on January 22 from the John F. Kennedy Cosmodrome. But due to organizational troubles, the start was moved first to January 23, and then to January 24.
- Due to a storm warning and low temperatures, the flight was postponed for another day.
- Again, due to bad weather, the start was postponed to January 27.
- During the next inspection of the equipment, several problems were identified, so it was decided to set a new flight date - January 28.
On the morning of January 28, it was cold outside, 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 sealing rings and recommended that the launch date be postponed again. But these recommendations were rejected. There was another difficulty: the launch site was icy. It was an insurmountable obstacle, but, "fortunately", by 10 am the ice began to melt. The start was scheduled for 11 hours 40 minutes. It was broadcast on national television. All of America watched the events at the spaceport.
The launch and crash of the shuttle Challenger
At 11 hours and 38 minutes, the engines started. After 2 minutes, the device started. After 7 seconds, gray smoke escaped from the base of the right booster, this was recorded by ground shooting of the flight. The reason for this was the effect of shock loading during engine start-up. This has happened before, and the main o-ring worked, which provided a reliablesystem isolation. But that morning it was cold, so the frozen ring lost its elasticity and could not work properly. This was the cause of the disaster.
At 58 seconds into the flight, the Challenger shuttle, whose photo 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 into the flight, the liquid oxygen tank collapsed. The oxygen and hydrogen detonated and the Challenger disappeared in a huge fireball.
Search for the remains of the ship and the bodies of the dead
After the explosion, the wreckage of the shuttle fell into the Atlantic Ocean. The search for the wreckage of the spacecraft and the bodies of the dead astronauts was taken up by the US Department of Defense with the support of the military from the Coast Guard. On March 7, a shuttle cabin with the bodies of crew members was found at the bottom of the ocean. Due to prolonged exposure to seawater, the autopsy was unable to determine the exact cause of death. However, it was possible to find out that after the explosion, the astronauts remained alive, since their cabin was simply torn off from the tail section. Michael Smith, Allison Onizuka, and Judith Resnick remained conscious and turned on their 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 wreckage of the shuttle was completed, 55% of the shuttle was recovered from the ocean.
Investigation of the causes of the tragedy
The internal investigation of all the circumstances of the NASA disaster was conducted under the strictestsecrecy. To understand all the details of the case and find out the reasons for the fall of the Challenger shuttle, US President Reagan created a special Rogers Commission (named after Chairman William Pierce Rogers). It included prominent scientists, space and aviation engineers, astronauts and the military.
A few months later, the Rogers Commission submitted a report to the president, where all the circumstances that led to the Challenger shuttle disaster were made public. It was also pointed out that NASA management did not adequately respond to the warnings of specialists about the problems that had arisen with the safety of the planned flight.
Aftermath of the crash
The crash of the shuttle "Challenger" de alt a strong blow to the reputation of the United States, the program "Space Transportation System" was curtailed for 3 years. The United States suffered losses ($8 billion) due to the largest spacecraft disaster at the time.
Significant changes were made to the design of the shuttles, significantly increasing their safety.
The structure of NASA was also reorganized. An independent flight safety oversight agency has been established.
Display in culture
In May 2013, the film directed by J. Howes "Challenger" was released. In the UK, it was named the best drama film of the year. Its plot is based on real events and concerns the activities of the Rogers Commission.
