Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster - Houston, Texas
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This small monument is dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger that died on January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral during mission STS-51-L. The monument is found in Tranquility Park in Houston, Texas.
Waymark Code: WMGTBA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/07/2013
Views: 6
"The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 EST (16:38 UTC). Disintegration of the entire vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed, allowing pressurized hot gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external fuel tank. This led to the separation of the right-hand SRBs aft attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Aerodynamic forces promptly broke up the orbiter.
The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation. Although the exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown, several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft. However, the shuttle had no escape system and the impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface was too violent to be survivable.
The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the Rogers Commission, a special commission appointed by United States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident. The Rogers Commission found NASA's organizational culture and decision-making processes had been key contributing factors to the accident. NASA managers had known contractor Morton Thiokol's design of the SRBs contained a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings since 1977, but failed to address it properly. They also disregarded warnings from engineers about the dangers of launching posed by the low temperatures of that morning and had failed in adequately reporting these technical concerns to their superiors.
Many viewed the launch live because of the presence of crew member Christa McAuliffe, the first member of the Teacher in Space Project and the (planned) first female teacher in space. Media coverage of the accident was extensive: one study reported that 85 percent of Americans surveyed had heard the news within an hour of the accident. The Challenger disaster has been used as a case study in many discussions of engineering safety and workplace ethics."
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The text on the memorial's plaque reads:
"[Francis R Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A Resnik, Ronald E McNair, Elison S Onizuka, Gregory B Jarvis, Christa McAuliff"
"To the seven men and women who made the supreme sacrifice to advance humankind to the heavens on January 28, 1986"
"The Space shuttle Challenger Mission 51-L exploded approximately ten miles above Cape Canaveral Florida at 10:38 AM CST. They wished to serve and they did. Therefore on behalf of the Citizens of Houston, the Engineers Council of Houston honors these national heroes. January 28, 1987."