...Challenger Disaster Research Paper Space Shuttle Challenger was first called as STA-099, and was built as a test vehicle for the space program. But despite its Earth-bound beginnings, STA-099 was destined for space. In 1979, NASA awarded a contract to Rockwell, a space shuttle manufacturer to convert the STA-099 to a space orbiter OV-099. After completion of OV-099, it arrived at the at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July 1982, bearing the name "Challenger." Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger was named after the British Naval vessel HMS Challenger that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870s. Challenger launched on her maiden voyage, STS-6, on April 4, 1983. That mission saw the first spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program. The NASA had planned for a six day flight, and their mission was to release and retrieve one satellite to study Haley’s comet, and to launch another satellite that would become part of the space communications network. Challenger was originally set to launch from Florida on January 22nd. But delays in STS-61-C and bad weather caused it to reschedule to January 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 27th. On January 28th 1986, the space shuttle was set to take off, but the launch time was delayed due to problems with the...
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...3 Study Questions 3 The Fatal Flaw In Flight 51-L 5 Challenger's final hours 6 The history of the flawed joint 7 Certified in spite of the flaws 8 Accepted as acceptable 9 The lesser of two evils 9 The problems grow worse 9 Anatomy of a tragedy 10 Why wasn't the design fixed? 11 Why wasn't erosion seen as a danger sign? 11 Operational and then what? 12 Why no second sources? 12 How did NASA and Thiokol view the odds? 12 What role did NASA's safety office play? 13 Was NASA or Thiokol pressured to launch? 14 Why didn't they talk to each other? 14 How about NASA's past success? 15 What lessons have been learned? 15 Defining terms 16 Figures Figure 1: The Launch Decision Chain 17 Figure 2: Anatomy Of A Booster Field Joint 18 Figure 3: Joint Rotation 18 Figure 4: Titan Joints vs. Shuttle Booster Joints 19 Figure 5: Joint Putty 19 Figure 6: O-Ring Distress 20 Figure 7: Joint Distress vs. Temperature At Launch 20 Figure 8: 7/31/85 Memo, Boisjoly 21 Figure 9: 10/1/85 Memo, Ebeling 22 Figure 10: 10/1/85 Memo, Stein 24 Figure 11: 10/4/85 Activity Report, Boisjoly 25 Instructions On the first day of the workshop, we will discuss the management system failures associated with the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. Please read the attached article[?],[?] before the workshop and be prepared to discuss the study questions listed below. Study Questions ...
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...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 Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:38 EST (16:38 UTC). Disintegration of the 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 SRB's aft attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Aerodynamic forces 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. 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. 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 byUnited States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident. The Rogers Commission found NASA's organizational...
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