Simviation Forum - Challenger

Jan 26^th, 2006 at 2:22pm

ozzy72 Offline
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Well 20 years ago on Saturday Challenger exploded killing the crew (commander Dick Scobee, pilot Mike Smith and astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair and Greg Jarvis and teacher Christa McAuliffe). I can still remember it vividly.
Also by a strange coincidence I'll have been living in Hungary 7 years on Saturday!

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Reply #1 - Jan 26^th, 2006 at 3:10pm

dcunning30 Offline
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I've seen Judy Resnik in person when Discovery landed at Edwards back in the 1980's. I'll never forget it.

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Reply #2 - Jan 26^th, 2006 at 3:57pm

C Offline
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Another thing I can just remember seeing on TV... Not pleasant...

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Reply #3 - Jan 26^th, 2006 at 6:03pm

Flt.Lt.Andrew Ex Member

Yeah, I saw a film of that a few years back- terrible stuff.
They don't have an ejection system on shuttles?

A.

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Reply #4 - Jan 26^th, 2006 at 7:07pm

RichieB16 Offline
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Quote:

They don't have an ejection system on shuttles?

No.

During the first 4 space shuttle missions, there were ejection seats onboard-but they were only good for the first 2 minutes of launch and then they were no good. After the first 4 flights (STS-1 through STS-4 were test missions with only 2 man crews) they became usless since some of the crew are on the middeck. There are only 4 seats on the flight deck, with a maximum crew of 8-the remaining crew are on the middeck during launch. In this case, Challenger had 7 onboard. I suppose that had there been ejection seats, they could have saved 4 crewmembers (Scobee, Smith, Resnik, and Onizuka) assuming they survived the ejection and that the problem was known (which is wasn't).

There is an emergency bail out option, but I they can't bail out until the solid rocket motors are released I believe.

I wouldn't have mattered in this case anyway. There really wasn't any warning during the launch that there was a problem until just before it exploded (like the instant before).

But, there were people trying to stop the launch before it happened and their cries fell on deaf ears. Several engineers felt that due to the cold (it was far colder than any shuttle launch before) that the risk of an O-Ring Seal on one of the solid rocket boosters failing was too great. But, they had pushed that rule before and decided to do it again (since the launch had been delayed enough and the whole world was waiting to see it launch).

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Reply #5 - Jan 27^th, 2006 at 4:34am

eno Offline
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I remember it vividly ........ I was playing snooker at a local club .... they had a TV projector in the bar and one of the girls disrupted the game shouoting that the shuttle had blown up. We thought she was just being a PITA to wind us up but she kept insisting. We immedately went through and put the news on to be greeted with the firework display that was the shuttle taking off only to explode. It was rather sobering.

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Reply #6 - Jan 27^th, 2006 at 9:51am

Ijineda Offline
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Yeah that must be one of my first television memories...along with tschernobyl, which was earlier (?).

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Reply #7 - Jan 27^th, 2006 at 10:38am

RichieB16 Offline
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Quote:

along with tschernobyl, which was earlier (?).

Challenger was earlier, it occured on January 28, 1986.

The Chernobyl Disaster happened on April 25-26, 1986.

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Reply #8 - Jan 27^th, 2006 at 7:24pm

bbstackerf Offline
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As I recall something was being considered in the way of ecapsulating the crew area in an "escape" pod that would allow them to be ejected away fron the ship. Don't know if anything was ever implemented though.

Keni

Edit: They were just talking about the shuttles and plans to reired the shuttles in favor of revamping the whole space program.

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Reply #9 - Jan 27^th, 2006 at 8:39pm

RichieB16 Offline
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Quote:

As I recall something was being considered in the way of ecapsulating the crew area in an "escape" pod that would allow them to be ejected away fron the ship. Don't know if anything was ever implemented though.

Nothing like that was ever put into the shuttle. I know that there is a plan that allows the crew to actually parachute out of the shuttle during launch but that requires them to climb from their seats to the hatch. A cable deploys from the hatch for them to attach to which will get them clear of the shuttle. Of course, such a thing is only an option of a certain short part of the launch and is considered highly risky. They do train for it (their suits contain parachutes and can even become a completely contained raft with roof).

But, during the first 4 missions which were the test flights of the shuttle (Space Shuttle Columbia) the 2 man crew had ejection seats during the launch. Infact, if you ever get the chance to watch one of those launch videos and listen to the communication, about 2 minutes into the launch the CAPCOM says "negative seats" which means that they are too far into launch and ejection is no longer an option.

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Reply #10 - Jan 27^th, 2006 at 8:58pm

BFMF Offline
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I wish I could remember it, but I was only 3 weeks old when the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded

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Reply #11 - Jan 28^th, 2006 at 9:45am

Romulus111VADT Offline
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I met Christa McAuliffe in a Concord, NH convenience store in 1985 while on a business trip. I had no idea who she was, other than a really sweet lady. We talked while we waited in line. She told me she was a teacher and was suppose to go up in the next shuttle mission.

I hadn't heard of the program that she was talking about and frankly I just thought she was BS'ing me.

When the Challenger exploded and they were naming the astronauts that were lost. When they said Christa McAuliffe, I freaked! When they showed her picture on the TV, I felt like someone shot me.

Her poor students were watching the lift off on a special link up with the Kennedy Space Center. To put it mildly, they were in total and complete shock.

Sad

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Reply #12 - Jan 29^th, 2006 at 12:59am

H Offline
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Quote:

I met Christa McAuliffe in a Concord, NH... Her poor students were watching the lift off on a special link up with the Kennedy Space Center. To put it mildly, they were in total and complete shock. Sad

Most all of NH was watching. Sort of still do; there are memoriums. There is also a planetarium that bears her name.

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Reply #13 - Feb 2^nd, 2006 at 6:50pm

beaky Offline
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Still recall that terrible day... saw it live on TV at work. Undecided

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