Challenger was traveling at a speed of Mach 1.92, at a height of 46,000 feet. The discoveries made on her many successful missions continue to better mankind in space flight and in life on Earth. The main explosion was the Hydrogen and Oxygen that come from the External Tank. The loss of Challenger does not overshadow her legacy in NASA's storied history. Just 73 seconds into mission STS 51-L, a booster failure caused an explosion that resulted in the loss of seven astronauts, as well as the vehicle. A host of scientific experiments and satellite deployments were performed during Challenger's missions.Ĭhallenger's service to America's space program ended in tragedy on Jan. Spacelabs 2 and 3 flew aboard the ship on missions STS 51-F and STS 51-B, as did the first German-dedicated Spacelab on STS 61-A. The first orbiter to launch and land at night on mission STS-8, Challenger also made the first Space Shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center, concluding mission STS 41-B. Image to right: Space Shuttle Challenger leaps from the launch pad to begin mission STS-41-C. The orbiter launched the first American woman, Sally Ride, into space on mission STS-7 and was the first to carry two U.S. That mission saw the first spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program, as well as the deployment of the first satellite in the Tracking and Data Relay System constellation. Like its historic predecessors, Challenger and her crews made significant scientific contributions in the spirit of exploration.Ĭhallenger launched on her maiden voyage, STS-6, on April 4, 1983. The Apollo 17 lunar module also carried the name of Challenger. Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger was named after the British Naval research vessel HMS Challenger that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870s. The second orbiter to join NASA's Space Shuttle fleet, OV-099 arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July 1982, bearing the name "Challenger." Although the job was easier than it would have been to convert NASA's first orbiter, Enterprise, it was a major process that involved the disassembly and replacement of many parts and components. The vehicle's conversion began late that year. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, and launched on its maiden flight in April 1983. In early 1979, NASA awarded Space Shuttle orbiter manufacturer Rockwell a contract to convert STA-099 to a space-rated orbiter, OV-099. Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Image to left: Challenger is seen against a breathtaking backdrop of blue water and white clouds in this photo, taken from a camera aboard the Shuttle Pallet Satellite during mission STS-7. The best solution was to submit the vehicle to a year of intensive vibration and thermal testing. Computer software at the time wasn't yet advanced enough to accurately predict how STA-099's new, optimized design would respond to intense heat and stress. In the late 1970s, NASA strived for a lighter weight orbiter, but a test vehicle was needed to ensure the lighter airframe could handle the stress of space flight. But despite its Earth-bound beginnings, STA-099 was destined for space. In some ways, the loss of Columbia affected me more deeply than Challenger.First called STA-099, Challenger was built to serve as a test vehicle for the Space Shuttle program. Another decade passed and, now a teacher myself, I returned to my school one cold Monday morning to explain to my pupils what had happened to Challenger's sister ship, Columbia, a few days earlier. Five years later, I gave a speech on the STS-51L disaster to my teacher as part of my GCSE English assessment. In September 1988, aged 11,1 came home from school to watch STS-26 return the Shuttle fleet to orbital operations. Admittedly, my fascination with rockets and astronauts, stars and planets had begun several years earlier, but Challenger's destruction turned it from an occasional hobby to a fascination which has remained with me ever since. I watched the entire horror unfold live on all of the network stations. My parents were, at the time, midway through moving house and, luckily, the TV was one of the few domestic items still to be packed. Ironically, the loss of Challenger in January 1986 fired my interest in space exploration more than any other single event.
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