- On January 28, 1986The space shuttle challenger disintegrated in mid air as the whole world watched in horror. The shuttles external fuel tank had collapsed because of the failure of the two O-rings in the aft joint in the right solid rocket booster releasing all its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. As the chemicals mixed, they ignited to create a giant fireball thousands of feet in the air
- it is thought that the decision to launch in near-freezing temperatures contributed to the failure, making the seal rigid and unable to seal properly.
What was the big picture problem that set the conditions for this accident?
What implications did this have for the US Space Program? For the nation
- The Challenger loss shrank America's fleet of shuttles from four to three, and forced important shuttle missions to be put on hold or canceled
- The accident taught NASA much about the vulnerabilities of the shuttle and how to make space travel safer
- Congress poured money into NASA to fund its recovery from the catastrophe
- Challenger accident opened America's eyes to the shuttle's fragility and perils
- The accident sparked a frenzy of self-improvement efforts at NASA some NASA officials lost there jobs
- NASA improved the O-rings and designed bail out system for the astronauts
What other challenges have the Space Shuttles encountered?
- space shuttle Atlantis inquired problems with it,s heat shield
- space shuttle challenger had problems with it,s O-rings
- space shuttle Columbia obtained damage during lift off when foam around the external fuel tank creating a whole
members of the challenger
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