Challenger's hubris

Millions of people gather in the fields, around the TV sets, tuned to the radio. Millions of people, with unblinking eyes count down the seconds.

10... 9... 8...

Millions of buzzing thoughts,

7... 6... 5...

Millions of curious minds,

4... 3... 2...

Millions of hopeful prayers,

1... blastoff.

Millions of cheers, then millions of tears. The families watch, the children watch, the beautiful spacecraft fall from the sky. The engineers, the brilliant brains, drop to their knees, in overwhelming disdain. The Challenger has fallen on its way to its tenth reign.

And people cried, and mourned the loss of their commrads. But, above all the commotion and emotion, people simply asked, why? It's interesting how often we ask ourselves that question and it simultaneously would be incredible if we didn't. "Why?", in my humble opinion is the basis of humanity, because if we didn't ask the seemingly noncomplex question we'd be a noncomplex species. If we didn't ask why something behaved the way it did, we'd never find out. Some things seem unexplainable, but it's not about whether a question can be answered (I'll answer that one, it can) but whether it be answered now or in due time, and the Challenger disaster, has come to a conclusion.

Credit to wsotv.com, no copyright infringement is intended

What went wrong?

1 minute and 13 seconds into liftoff (11:38 am Eastern time) Challenger exploded, killing all its inhabitants on January 28th, 1986. Some people focused on the crew and never looked for anything else but love and rememberance. Others, wanted to know the very mechanics. They wanted to know the science. And it all comes down to the temperature. The frigid January air of Cape Canaveral. Challenger's launch date was postponed 6 days due to the very same concerning conditions it failed from, and the engineers didn't turn a blind eye to this. They warned that the O-rings, the rubber sealants at the joints of the solid rocket boosters, were incredibly susceptible to failure in such a gelid enviormental state. Regardless, the launch proceeded. The warnings, indeed, and unfortunately, came to be. When the O-ring failed it allowed pressurized gas to leak out and obtrude the strut connecting the rocket booster to the orange external tank. This triggered each segment to break down. Burning hydrogen and liquid oxygen leaking from the intertank caused the shuttle to fall apart with the added influence of aerodynamic loads. Just 1 minute before complete destruction observers could see parts of the spacecraft fling through the air into the uninviting ocean below and eventually, the entire ship entered the forboding waters. Over the years parts have been pulled from the sea and some debris can be viewed at the Kennedy Space Museum.

Credit: CBS News, no copyright infringement is intended

Are we trying to prevent a disaster like this from happening again?

Obviously NASA and observant international space organizations won't be launching in unsafe temperatures and will be more receptive to the engineers warnings despite claimed superiority, in the future. After the disaster NASA agreed to better communication throughout all occupations and flying civilians into space wasn't reinstated until 2007. Satellite launches were shifted from being launched by space shuttles to reusable rockets and astronauts weren't instructed to fix satellites anymore. The manned manuevering unit was never flown again. A little known fact is there was no escape system implanted in Challenger. Knowing that it could potentially have saved their lives NASA has acknowledged this, but still has never put one in any present spacecrafts. Including Columbia which exploded 17 years after Challenger.

The crew

There were 7 crew members aboard Challenger's last mission. Dick Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. You've probably heard of Christa McAuliffe because she was the first civilian to have been attempted to be put in space. McAuliffe was an American school teacher who was selected for space flight by a program called the Teacher in Space Project. She had planned on teaching educational lessons while in orbit. All 7 crew members had 0-2 children and 5/7 crew members had spouses. One of the most difficult aspects for people to choke down is that it was likely some of the astronauts were still alive as they plummeted towards earth, they just died of the impact of hitting the water. It's terrifying and intriguing to wonder what the crew must have been thinking in those last seconds. All 7 member's remains were found in the weeks following the explosion and all that couldn't be identified were buried in Arlington Cemetery. Every astronaut on Challenger STS-51-L had accomplished many great things in their lifetime and continue to influence people to this day.

Credit: deutschlandfunk.de, no copyright infringement is intended

Challenger's successes

It's difficult to see past a tragedy, but Challenger had 9 successful missions before disaster struck. In fact, the majority of people I've spoken to thought Challenger had only pursued 1 mission, the failed mission which is evidently incorrect. Challenger was able to deploy 10 satellites over 9 successful missions. Challenger also carried the first american female astronaut, Sally Ride, into space and later became the first mission to carry two women onboard. Its first mission holds the title of having the first spacewalk during a space shuttle mission. Another monumental achievement is when Guion Bluford became the first african-american astronaut in space and Wubbo Ockels the first dutchman. Challenger pushed a lot of equality movements forward and while its disintegration crushed the nation, there's a lot to appreciate about its previous missions. All in all, Challenger spent 62 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes, and 22 seconds in space.

Conclusion

Challenger failed, yes, and succeeded as well. It gave people both wonder and terror. It offered discovery, and understanding. We had to learn by our mistakes and at the toll of 7 incredible crew members. Even though Challenger is seen as a terrible occurence, we must accept that through failure we can be benefitted with knowledge. It's interesting how cause and effect truly impacts humanity. It's interesting how easily tragic events can be avoided. Just never stop asking yourself "why?". The question is fundamental. Clear skies my friends.