Ace Boobtoucher
Founder and Captain of the Douchepatrol
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...enger-explosion-30-year-anniversary.html?_r=0
I remember this clearly because my high school broadcast it live in every classroom. There was a ton of interest because NASA selected a school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, to be the first civilian to go into space. We stared in stunned disbelief as the orbiter exploded spectacularly 73 seconds into the mission.
The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, after the separation of the right-hand solid rocket booster resulted in the structural failure of the external tank, and the ensuing 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; but 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 deemed too violent to be survivable.
After a six month investigation, known as the Rogers Commission, it was determined that the accident was due to a failure of rubber O-rings made by Morton-Thiokol that provided a pressure seal in the aft field joint of the shuttle's right Solid Rocket Booster. The failure of the O-rings was attributed to a design flaw, as their performance could be too easily compromised by factors that included the low temperature on the day of launch. The Commission found that O-ring resiliency is directly related to temperature and due to the low temperature at launch -- 36 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 degrees lower than the next coldest previous launch -- it was probable the O-rings had not provided a proper seal.
Today marks the thirtieth anniversary they slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.
Godspeed, crew of STS-51-L. We hardly knew ye.
I remember this clearly because my high school broadcast it live in every classroom. There was a ton of interest because NASA selected a school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, to be the first civilian to go into space. We stared in stunned disbelief as the orbiter exploded spectacularly 73 seconds into the mission.
The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, after the separation of the right-hand solid rocket booster resulted in the structural failure of the external tank, and the ensuing 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; but 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 deemed too violent to be survivable.
After a six month investigation, known as the Rogers Commission, it was determined that the accident was due to a failure of rubber O-rings made by Morton-Thiokol that provided a pressure seal in the aft field joint of the shuttle's right Solid Rocket Booster. The failure of the O-rings was attributed to a design flaw, as their performance could be too easily compromised by factors that included the low temperature on the day of launch. The Commission found that O-ring resiliency is directly related to temperature and due to the low temperature at launch -- 36 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 degrees lower than the next coldest previous launch -- it was probable the O-rings had not provided a proper seal.
Today marks the thirtieth anniversary they slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.
Godspeed, crew of STS-51-L. We hardly knew ye.
