35th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger

Commander Wallace · 01-28-21, 06:14 PM

It was 35 years ago today that the Shuttle Challenger was lost along with it's talented 7 crew members. Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory jarvis and teacher Christa McAuliff were killed when joints in a solid rocket booster failed causing a catastrophic explosion that destroyed Challenger and killed her crew.

Lack of oversight resulted in Morton Thiokol engineers, manufacturers of the solid rocket boosters, being ignored in their recommendations not to launch due to freezing conditions the night before the launch of the Challenger. The engineers believed the cold, icy conditions compromised the integrity of the solid fuel rocket boosters. The Rubber O rings sealing the booster segments were never designed for extreme cold weather.

It was the same lack of oversight that would doom the Space Shuttle Columbia On Feb. 1, 2003.

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/t...ny/4294111001/

Rest in peace, brave crew.

stork100 · 01-28-21, 07:34 PM

Last Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece)

From the 1986 album Rendez-Vous by French electronic composer Jean Michel Jarre. From Wikipedia:

"The last track on the album was originally scheduled to include a saxophone part recorded by astronaut Ron McNair on the Space Shuttle Challenger, which would have made it the first piece of music to be recorded in space. However, on January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after lift-off, the shuttle disintegrated and the entire Challenger crew were killed. The track was dedicated to McNair and the other astronauts on board Challenger".

Buddahaid · 01-28-21, 07:48 PM

Damn that makes me feel old. Watched it live.

Platapus · 01-29-21, 04:46 AM

I was working the swing shift at Offutt AFB, Nebraska when we got the news. After getting home after midnight, I spent the next six hours glued to the TV set watching this terrible accident over and over again.

For me, it is one of those "I won't forget where I was when I learned about it". I can still remember exactly where I was and who was in the room when we first got the word.

Skybird · 01-29-21, 05:23 AM

Heck, i was 18 then, turning 19, just having finsihed school since a couple of days. I still remember it. The Orbiter was an icon of my youth. The proud name woke associations that turned the orbiter into somethign that was almost invincible. The harder the wakeup call was then. Lesson learned.

Just a couple of weeks later the LaBelle in Berlin would go up right in my back after we just had passed its entry.

That were intense months.

Jimbuna · 01-29-21, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Damn that makes me feel old. Watched it live.

Me too but with one subtle difference...I am old.

Aktungbby · 01-29-21, 10:36 AM

^ It only get's worse BBY...and it ain't subtle!

mapuc · 01-29-21, 11:52 AM

I was 20 years old I remember they(Swedish tv) showed the launch live.

I remember that I didn't react when it exploded. Like I couldn't comprehend what just had unfold right in front of my eyes.

Markus

les green01 · 01-29-21, 03:32 PM

i was in the 7th grade since there was a teacher onboard they let my class watch it on tv i don't remember any of us kids having a reaction

AVGWarhawk · 01-29-21, 03:44 PM

I remember this day like yesterday. I had just left a class at the University of MD College Park and headed in to the Student Union building. As I was walking the halls I notice a lot of the girls crying and looking at the TV that hung around the hallways. It was here I realized what had occurred. Sad day indeed.

Commander Wallace · 01-29-21, 09:31 PM

Final thoughts.

I'm very sorry that many of you are still troubled by the Challenger disaster. It seems much like the assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy, People remember exactly where they were upon hearing of Challenger. What's worse is that the loss of the Challenger crew was preventable. The crew was sacrificed in the name of expediency, for nothing more than to maintain an ambitious schedule.

Admittedly, I have only been able to briefly read the biographical information before having to look away because of the incredible degree of loss associated with their deaths.

Judith Reznik was an Electrical, software and Biomedical Engineer. Judith was a pilot and of course, an Astronaut. Recognized while still a child for her brilliance, Judith was accepted at Carnegie Mellon University after being one of only 16 women in the history of the U.S to attain a perfect score on her Sat's at that time.

Ellison Onizuka graduated with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Un iversity of Colorado, in Boulder. Lt. Col Onizuka was a test pilot at the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force base in California.

The rest of the biographical information is available on the crew so I'll go no further. The rest of the Bio's are just as impressive. This crew and others in the military and space program at NASA were and are the absolute cream of the crop. This crew may well have been the best of the best which makes their deaths all the more painful. Because of the absolute brilliance and caliber of individuals such as this, Space flight and Shuttle launches were routine, their successes a foregone conclusion.

We forgot it took the courage, daring and skill of people like General Chuck Yeager,whom we just recently lost, and others just like him, to make this all possible and forge new frontiers and make the leap into the unknown. Hopefully, we have learned the lessons and costs associated with arrogance.

May their sacrifices and accomplishments never be forgotten.

Buddahaid · 01-29-21, 09:52 PM

Everything is preventable in hindsight. We were riding a wave.

Aktungbby · 01-29-21, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Everything is preventable in hindsight. We were riding a wave.

too bad we could'nt apply a little 2020 vision in the previous year just ended...

Platapus · 01-30-21, 10:25 AM

I hope that we learned that there is no such thing as a routine space launch.

Skybird · 01-30-21, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platapus

I hope that we learned that there is no such thing as a routine space launch.

Yes. And of all environments man can go into, space is the most hostile and lethal and unforgivable one. Everything there is tries to kill you quickly or in a longer run.

01-28-21, 06:14 PM	#1
Commander Wallace Navy Seal Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Under the sea in an Octupus garden in the shade Posts: 5,294 Downloads: 366 Uploads: 0	35th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger It was 35 years ago today that the Shuttle Challenger was lost along with it's talented 7 crew members. Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory jarvis and teacher Christa McAuliff were killed when joints in a solid rocket booster failed causing a catastrophic explosion that destroyed Challenger and killed her crew. Lack of oversight resulted in Morton Thiokol engineers, manufacturers of the solid rocket boosters, being ignored in their recommendations not to launch due to freezing conditions the night before the launch of the Challenger. The engineers believed the cold, icy conditions compromised the integrity of the solid fuel rocket boosters. The Rubber O rings sealing the booster segments were never designed for extreme cold weather. It was the same lack of oversight that would doom the Space Shuttle Columbia On Feb. 1, 2003. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/t...ny/4294111001/ Rest in peace, brave crew.

01-28-21, 07:48 PM	#3
Buddahaid Shark above Space Chicken Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,319 Downloads: 162 Uploads: 0	Damn that makes me feel old. Watched it live. __________________ "However vast the darkness, we must provide our own light." Stanley Kubrick "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming." David Bowie

01-29-21, 04:46 AM	#4
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,360 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	I was working the swing shift at Offutt AFB, Nebraska when we got the news. After getting home after midnight, I spent the next six hours glued to the TV set watching this terrible accident over and over again. For me, it is one of those "I won't forget where I was when I learned about it". I can still remember exactly where I was and who was in the room when we first got the word. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

01-29-21, 05:23 AM	#5
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Heck, i was 18 then, turning 19, just having finsihed school since a couple of days. I still remember it. The Orbiter was an icon of my youth. The proud name woke associations that turned the orbiter into somethign that was almost invincible. The harder the wakeup call was then. Lesson learned. Just a couple of weeks later the LaBelle in Berlin would go up right in my back after we just had passed its entry. That were intense months. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

01-29-21, 10:36 AM	#7
Aktungbby Gefallen Engel U-666 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: On a tilted, overheated, overpopulated spinning mudball on Collision course with Andromeda Galaxy Posts: 29,981 Downloads: 24 Uploads: 0	^ It only get's worse BBY...and it ain't subtle! __________________ "Only two things are infinite; The Universe and human squirrelyness?!!

01-28-21, 07:34 PM	#2
stork100 Weps Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Australia Posts: 371 Downloads: 92 Uploads: 0	Last Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece) From the 1986 album Rendez-Vous by French electronic composer Jean Michel Jarre. From Wikipedia: "The last track on the album was originally scheduled to include a saxophone part recorded by astronaut Ron McNair on the Space Shuttle Challenger, which would have made it the first piece of music to be recorded in space. However, on January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after lift-off, the shuttle disintegrated and the entire Challenger crew were killed. The track was dedicated to McNair and the other astronauts on board Challenger".

01-29-21, 11:52 AM	#8
mapuc CINC Pacific Fleet Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Denmark Posts: 20,535 Downloads: 37 Uploads: 0	I was 20 years old I remember they(Swedish tv) showed the launch live. I remember that I didn't react when it exploded. Like I couldn't comprehend what just had unfold right in front of my eyes. Markus __________________ My little lovely female cat

01-29-21, 03:32 PM	#9
les green01 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Freeman Missouri Posts: 1,784 Downloads: 1405 Uploads: 0	i was in the 7th grade since there was a teacher onboard they let my class watch it on tv i don't remember any of us kids having a reaction __________________ I'll tell you what bravery really is. Bravery is just determination to do a job that you know has to be done. Audie Murphy

01-29-21, 03:44 PM	#10
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I remember this day like yesterday. I had just left a class at the University of MD College Park and headed in to the Student Union building. As I was walking the halls I notice a lot of the girls crying and looking at the TV that hung around the hallways. It was here I realized what had occurred. Sad day indeed. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

01-29-21, 09:31 PM	#11
Commander Wallace Navy Seal Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Under the sea in an Octupus garden in the shade Posts: 5,294 Downloads: 366 Uploads: 0	Final thoughts. I'm very sorry that many of you are still troubled by the Challenger disaster. It seems much like the assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy, People remember exactly where they were upon hearing of Challenger. What's worse is that the loss of the Challenger crew was preventable. The crew was sacrificed in the name of expediency, for nothing more than to maintain an ambitious schedule. Admittedly, I have only been able to briefly read the biographical information before having to look away because of the incredible degree of loss associated with their deaths. Judith Reznik was an Electrical, software and Biomedical Engineer. Judith was a pilot and of course, an Astronaut. Recognized while still a child for her brilliance, Judith was accepted at Carnegie Mellon University after being one of only 16 women in the history of the U.S to attain a perfect score on her Sat's at that time. Ellison Onizuka graduated with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Un iversity of Colorado, in Boulder. Lt. Col Onizuka was a test pilot at the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force base in California. The rest of the biographical information is available on the crew so I'll go no further. The rest of the Bio's are just as impressive. This crew and others in the military and space program at NASA were and are the absolute cream of the crop. This crew may well have been the best of the best which makes their deaths all the more painful. Because of the absolute brilliance and caliber of individuals such as this, Space flight and Shuttle launches were routine, their successes a foregone conclusion. We forgot it took the courage, daring and skill of people like General Chuck Yeager,whom we just recently lost, and others just like him, to make this all possible and forge new frontiers and make the leap into the unknown. Hopefully, we have learned the lessons and costs associated with arrogance. May their sacrifices and accomplishments never be forgotten. Last edited by Commander Wallace; 01-29-21 at 09:55 PM.

01-29-21, 09:52 PM	#12
Buddahaid Shark above Space Chicken Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,319 Downloads: 162 Uploads: 0	Everything is preventable in hindsight. We were riding a wave. __________________ "However vast the darkness, we must provide our own light." Stanley Kubrick "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming." David Bowie

01-30-21, 10:25 AM	#14
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,360 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	I hope that we learned that there is no such thing as a routine space launch. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.