A little-known Air Force official whose title was range safety officer quickly hit a self-destruct button, causing the boosters to explode and fall into the sea rather than on any populated areas. The booster rockets separated, and kept blasting upward on diverging paths. McAuliffe was selected out of 11,000 applicants partly because of her ease on camera. The tank quickly ruptured, igniting the hydrogen fuel and causing a massive, Hindenburg-like explosion. The breach allowed a few grams of superheated fuel to burn through.Īt one minute and 12 seconds after liftoff, the small flame grew, taking only three seconds to penetrate the fuel tank’s aluminum skin. The rings failed to expand fully in the cold, leaving a gap of less than a millimeter between booster sections. It was leaking fuel.Īs was later learned, the cold of the Florida morning had stiffened the rubber O-rings that held the booster sections together, containing the explosive fuel inside. Sitting on the right side of the flight deck, Smith looked out his window and likely saw a flash of vapor or a fire.ĭown on the ground at Mission Control, a computer screen indicated falling pressure in the right booster rocket. The Space Shuttle Challenger was hurtling through the air at twice the speed of sound when pilot Michael Smith noticed something alarming. ‘Challenger: The Final Flight’ trailer explores 1986 tragedyįirst of Christa McAuliffe’s lost lessons released from space Piece of Challenger space shuttle found nearly 37 years after deadly explosion Ex-astronaut says ‘toxic’ NASA hasn’t learned from costly fatal mistakes
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