The Challenger tragedy in photographs. The death of the Challenger. How America Survived the Great Space Disaster
On January 28, 1986, at 11:38 a.m. EST, the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Platform 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The entire crew of seven died 73 seconds later in the explosion. Today, 25 years after this tragedy, America honors the memory of the brave crew members who gave their lives for the dream of getting into space. Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire, was selected by NASA in a nationwide competition to fly into space. January 28, 2011 is the grim anniversary of the terrible tragedy.
(Total 34 photos)
1. Crew members of the shuttle Challenger. From left to right: Allison Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobie, Greg Yarvis, Ron McNair and Judith Resnick. (NASA/1986)
2. Christa McAuliffe at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A whole generation, including McAuliffe's students, has grown up since she and six astronauts died on January 28, 1986, a quarter of a century ago. The former students wanted to make sure that people who were not yet born when their beloved teacher died could learn about her and her dream of going into space. (AP/1985)
3. Christa McAuliffe at the Lions Club parade in front of the New Hampshire City Hall with her daughter Carolyn and son Scott. McAuliffe was a sociology teacher at Concord High School. NASA chose her to fly into space. (The Boston Globe/Janet Knott/1985)
4. McAuliff - the first American teacher in space - conducts his orchestra of volunteers called "Group Never" on the lawn of the city hall. The school hosted a "Christa McAuluff Day" and she performed the anthem "Stars and Stripes Forever" with the orchestra. (The Boston Globe/Janet Knott/1985)
5. Christa McAuliffe jogging with friends in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP/Jim Cole)
6. Christa McAuliffe celebrates with friends the news of a space flight the day after a visit to. (The Concord Monitor/Suzanne Kreiter)
7. McAuliffe aboard a test aircraft on January 2, 1986 during landing practice the day after arriving at NASA from Houston.
8. McAuliffe prepares for a test flight in a T-38 fighter in September 1985. It was part of her training for space flight in 1986.
9. McAuliffe aboard a T-38 fighter over Galveston Bay during a test before the launch of the Challenger shuttle. Part of Galveston Island and Houston can be seen in the background to the left. McAuluff presented the Teacher in Space project aboard the shuttle. (AP/1986)
10. Krista McAuliffe operates the manipulator arms aboard the Space Shuttle Simulator at Johnson Space Center in July 1985. (UPI)
11. McAuliff during a training flight in zero gravity in October 1985. (UPI)
12. McAuliffe signing autographs before the honorary announcement ceremony that she was chosen as the first teacher for space flights. The city authorities presented her with an engraved plate and the city flag. (AP/Suzanne Kreiter/1985)
13. McAuliffe at the Space Shuttle Challenger on platform 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in October 1985. (AP/Jim Neihouse)
14. Christa McAuliffe and Barbara Morgan (right) during a workout in 1986. (NASA)
15. McAuliff at the van that will take her to the launch platform. (The Boston Globe/Janet Knott)
16. The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger is heading to the launch pad at the Kennedy Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. In the foreground, Commander Francis Scobie, Specialist Judith Resnick, Specialist Ronald McNair, Instrumentation Bay Specialist Gregory Jarvis, Specialist Allison Onizuka, teacher Krista McAuliffe and pilot Michael Smith. (AP/Steve Helber)
18. Classmates of the son of Christa McAuliffe rejoice at the start of the shuttle. Their joy soon turned to horror - the entire crew of the shuttle was killed in an explosion 73 seconds later. (AP/Jim Cole)
19. Sequential photographs of the Challenger shuttle disaster. An ignition in the solid booster resulted in an explosion that killed all seven crew members. (HO/AFP/Getty Images)
20. Shuttle explosion 73 seconds after takeoff. This photo has become a symbol of the tragedy of the entire American nation. (Bruce Weaver/AP)
21. McAuliffe's relatives have just heard NASA's warning over the speakerphone that a tragedy has occurred. (The Boston Globe/Janet Knott/1986)
22. Teachers and students of the school where McAuliffe worked are shocked by what is happening: before their eyes, the wreckage of the shuttle fell from the sky. (The New York Times/Keith Meyers)
23. NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw breaks the terrible news: the Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members. (NBC News)
24. US President Ronald Reagan, surrounded by officials, is watching a replay of the shuttle explosion on TV in the White House. Left to right: White House Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speaks, Presidential Assistant Dennis Thomas, Special Assistant Jim Koon, President Reagan, White House Communications Director Patrick Buchanan, and Chief of Staff Donald Regan. (AP/Craig Fuji)
25. Buyer David Kimball and shop workers Lynn Beck and Lisa Olson after watching a memorial service in memory of the astronauts who died during the launch of the Challenger. On the screen are the relatives of one of the astronauts. (AP/Charles Krupa/1986)
26. A huge piece of the shuttle "Challenger" on the beach in Florida. He was washed ashore on December 17, 1996. (AP/Malcolm Denemark)
27. A cross and a wreath depicting a shuttle on the shore against the background of a Coast Guard boat, which is looking for the wreckage of the shuttle, in Cape Canaveral. (AP/Jim Neihouse/1986)
28. The sailors of the ship "Preserver" pull out of the sea part of the body of the rocket inertial upper stage after the explosion of the "Challenger". The stage was supposed to raise satellite tracking data to a higher orbit. The wreckage was found at a depth of 21 meters, 32 km northeast of the space center. (AP)
29. Members of the presidential commission to investigate the case of the explosion on the "Challenger" walk past the solid propellant booster and the outer tank of the shuttle in the assembly building of vehicles in the Kennedy Center. (AP)32. Headstone at the grave of Christa McAuliffe. She earned the title of "the first teacher in space" posthumously, but for many she remained a beloved and energetic teacher who devoted herself to education. (AP/Jim Cole)
33. Students walk past a stand in memory of Christa McAuliffe in February 2003 at an exhibition about the history of the space shuttle. McAuliffe and the other six members of the Challenger crew are remembered for their courage and desire to explore space. (AP/Mike Romer)
34. A wreath in memory of the seven astronauts who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger in the memorial grove during the annual memorial ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on January 27, 2011. (AP/Houston Chronicle/Smiley N. Pool)
1. From joy to death. The first orbital flight of an American teacher. NASA's choice for the role of honor advocate fell to Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire.
In this photo, McAuliffe drives past the New Hampshire State House in Concord with daughter Caroline and son Scott during the Lions Club parade on July 21, 1985.
2. Preparations for Houston.
High school teacher Christy McAuliffe folds up her tracksuit as she prepares for a trip to the Johnson Space Center in Houston on September 8, 1985.
3. Preparation of the Challenger.
The Space Shuttle Challenger is transported to a multi-tiered building at the NASA Space Center. Kennedy in Florida, December 17, 1985.
4. Zero gravity. Christy feels great.
Christa McAuliffe being prepared for weightlessness on NASA's specially equipped Zero Gravity Vehicle KS-135 on January 13, 1986. The apparatus moves in a parabolic pattern, which provides short periods of weightlessness. For some people, these short periods of weightlessness can be nauseating, which is why the craft has been nicknamed the "Vomit Comet".
5. To the starting platform.
The Space Shuttle Challenger is transported to the launch platform at the NASA Space Center. Kennedy.
6. The practice of evacuation.
Challenger crew members practice the evacuation procedure from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. On the left is Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Krista McAuliffe. Directly behind them are astronauts Judy Resnick and Allison Onizuka.
7. The team is ready to take off.
Challenger crew members stand in the White Room on Launch Platform 39B after a launch rehearsal. From left to right: Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judy Resnick, Commander Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, pilot Michael Smith and Allison Onizuka.
8. Course to the starting platform.
The Challenger crew members leave their location at the Kennedy Space Center and head to the launch platform on January 27, 1986. Commander Dick Scobee is at the head of the column, followed by Judy Resnick, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, Allison Onizuka, Krista McAuliffe and pilot Michael Smith. Due to strong winds at the site, NASA had to reschedule the launch from January 27 to January 28.
9. The first malfunctions.
A close-up camera on the launch platform captures the launch of the Challenger shuttle on January 28, 1986. From this camera position, a cloud of grey-brown smoke can be seen opposite the "U" in the word United States written on the orbiter. This was the first visible indication that damage had occurred at the junction of the launch vehicle. The researchers found that low nighttime temperatures caused the flexible rubber seal face rings to become rigid and inflexible. The failure of the rings caused hot exhaust gases to break through at the junction and enter the external fuel tank.
10. Start!
A camera with a wide-angle lens shows the ascent of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. In a matter of seconds after launch, the process of destruction began in the engine compartment of the rocket.
11. Ice on the launch pad.
Why did the seal face rings fail? On the day of the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, a structure at the NASA Space Center. Kennedy in Florida covered in icicles. Most likely, unusually cold weather caused the failure of the rings.
12. Watching the launch.
Children watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger from launch pad 39B on January 28, 1986. Their excitement turned to horror when the shuttle exploded 73 seconds into the flight. The boy in the white hat and glasses (center) is Peter Billingsley, star of A Christmas Carol and spokesman for the Young Astronaut Program.
13. Last seconds.
A minute after the shuttle's ascent, the right solid fuel compartment of the rocket's booster began to ignite.
15. Remains of a rocket.
Approximately 76 seconds later, the falling fragments of the orbital module could be seen against the backdrop of fire, smoke and rocket fuel fumes. The right solid fuel compartment of the rocket booster is still flying up.
16. Falling debris.
This photograph, released by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Challenger tragedy, shows fragments flying from the explosion on January 28, 1986, 78 seconds after liftoff. The top arrow shows the left wing of the orbiter. The center arrow shows the main engine of the orbital module, and the bottom arrow shows the nose fuselage. Researchers suggest that some of the Challenger crew members may have survived the explosion and died as they fell to the ground.
17. Awareness of the tragedy.
Flight Director Jay Green examines data at the Space Mission Control Center. Johnson in Texas.
18. Grief for the relatives of the dead.
Family members of astronaut teacher Christa McAuliffe watch the tragic launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Christa's sister, Betsy (foreground) with parents Grace and Ed Corrigan (behind).
19. The holiday is over.
Karina Dolcino, class president at Concord High School, is stunned by the news of the Challenger shuttle crash. The students watched the launch on TV. In honor of the successful start, a celebration was planned at the school.
20. The White House is watching.
February 3, 1986 President Ronald Reagan, center, surrounded by council members, watches a replay of the Challenger bombing at the White House on television. From left to right: Larry Speaks, White House Deputy Press Secretary, Presidential Assistant Denis Thomas, Special Assistant Jim Koon, Ronald Reagan, White House Communications Chief Patrick Buchanan, and Chief of Staff Donald Regan.
21. Compassion in school.
Lisa Mitten of Concord, New Hampshire, wipes away tears as her daughter Jessica reads sad letters that were collected at Concord High School on February 1, 1986. Hundreds of telegrams and letters were sent here from all over the United States of America.
22. Recovery of debris.
Wreckage from the ill-fated shuttle Challenger is unloaded from a Dallas Coast Guard cutter in February 1986.
23. One of the wreckage of the Challenger.
For several weeks after the accident, search parties went to sea to get the wreckage of the Challenger from the Atlantic Ocean. The ships carried debris to the Trident Basin at Cape Canaveral, from where it traveled to the Kennedy Space Center for investigation.
26. Memory.
President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy stand next to astronaut Michael Smith's wife and other family members during a memorial service.
27. Investigations.
Neil Armstrong, who took the first steps on the moon, was a member of the presidential commission investigating the Challenger explosion. In the photo, he listens to the report of the commission in Washington on February 11, 1986. In the background is another committee member, David Acheson.
28. Collect puzzle.
The search party assembled the left and right flanks of the Challenger during a month-long search operation. The fire significantly damaged the right side of the shuttle. But the left side, shown in this photo, escaped the fire and suffered only from a fall from a height.
29. Wreckage washed ashore.
Some of the sunken parts of the Challenger did not appear on the surface for a very long time after the explosion. A tractor transports part of a shuttle that washed ashore on a beach in Florida on December 17, 1996...almost 11 years after it crashed.
30. Memorial Day.
Every year in January, NASA commemorates the day of the Challenger explosion, as well as other tragedies that have happened in space. In this photograph, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keeffe lays a wreath at the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on January 28, 2003. O'Keeffe also honored the three Apollo 1 astronauts who died in the launch pad fire on January 27, 1967.
, teacher
Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe(English) Sharon Christa McAuliffe; September 2, Boston, Massachusetts, USA - January 28, Cape Canaveral, Florida) is an American astronaut and teacher. She was part of the crew of 7 astronauts of the Challenger shuttle and died during its launch on January 28, 1986.
Education
She was married to Stephen McAuliffe. They had two children: Scott and Carolyn.
Preparing for space flight
By 1984, US scientists and astronauts had completed 55 spaceflights, and their successful return to Earth had become something of a routine. There was an idea that almost every young and healthy person, having trained for several months, can fly into space. In the fall, the first competition was announced - "Teacher in Space". About 11 thousand applications were received, 118 candidates got into the second round, two from each state and subject territories.
After three months of training, Christie was ready to fly. She was assigned as the Challenger Payload Specialist and was tasked with teaching 15-minute onboard lessons about life and science on the shuttle and about space exploration and use, as well as filming educational footage.
Doom
January 28, 1986, at 11:38 local time, the Challenger with 7 astronauts went into flight. It crashed immediately after takeoff, killing all crew members.
Christa McAuliffe was posthumously awarded the US Congressional Space Medal of Honor and buried in Concord Cemetery. On her grave is a polished granite slab with the inscription: “To my wife, mother, teacher. A pioneer woman, the first ordinary citizen to launch into space.”
Interestingly, the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, shortly before the flight of the Challenger, applied for participation in the crew. He was refused, and it was Christa McAuliffe who took his place.
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Links
- Christa McAuliffe at the Internet Movie Database
- (English) on the Find a Grave website
Excerpt characterizing McAuliffe, Christa
At the beginning of winter, Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky and his daughter arrived in Moscow. In his past, in his intelligence and originality, especially in the weakening at that time of enthusiasm for the reign of Emperor Alexander, and in that anti-French and patriotic trend that reigned at that time in Moscow, Prince Nikolai Andreevich immediately became an object of special reverence for Muscovites and the center of the Moscow opposition to the government.
The prince has grown very old this year. Sharp signs of old age appeared in him: unexpected falling asleep, forgetfulness of the nearest events and memory of long-standing ones, and the childish vanity with which he assumed the role of the head of the Moscow opposition. Despite the fact that when the old man, especially in the evenings, went out to tea in his fur coat and powdered wig, and, touched by someone, began his abrupt stories about the past, or even more abrupt and sharp judgments about the present, he aroused in all his guests the same sense of respect. For visitors, this whole old house with huge dressing tables, pre-revolutionary furniture, these lackeys in powder, and the last century himself, a tough and smart old man with his meek daughter and pretty Frenchwoman, who were in awe of him, represented a majestically pleasant sight. But the visitors did not think that in addition to these two or three hours, during which they saw the owners, there were another 22 hours a day, during which the secret inner life of the house went on.
Recently, in Moscow, this inner life has become very difficult for Princess Marya. She was deprived in Moscow of those of her best joys - conversations with God's people and solitude - which refreshed her in the Bald Mountains, and did not have any benefits and joys of metropolitan life. She did not go out into the world; everyone knew that her father would not let her go without him, and he himself could not travel due to ill health, and she was no longer invited to dinners and evenings. Princess Marya completely abandoned hope for marriage. She saw the coldness and bitterness with which Prince Nikolai Andreevich received and sent away young people who could be suitors, who sometimes came to their house. Princess Marya had no friends: on this visit to Moscow, she was disappointed in her two closest people. M lle Bourienne, with whom she could not be completely frank before, now became unpleasant to her and for some reason she began to move away from her. Julie, who was in Moscow and to whom Princess Mary wrote for five years in a row, turned out to be a complete stranger to her when Princess Mary again met with her personally. Julie at this time, on the occasion of the death of her brothers, having become one of the richest brides in Moscow, was in the midst of social pleasures. She was surrounded by young people who, as she thought, suddenly appreciated her dignity. Julie was in that period of an aging socialite who feels that her last chance of marriage has come, and now or never her fate must be decided. Princess Mary, with a sad smile, recalled on Thursdays that now she had no one to write to, since Julie, Julie, from whose presence she had no joy, was here and saw her every week. She, like an old emigrant who refused to marry the lady with whom he spent his evenings for several years, regretted that Julie was here and she had no one to write to. Princess Mary in Moscow had no one to talk to, no one to believe her grief, and much new grief has been added during this time. The deadline for the return of Prince Andrei and his marriage was approaching, and his order to prepare his father for that was not only not fulfilled, but, on the contrary, the matter seemed to be completely spoiled, and the reminder of Countess Rostova pissed off the old prince, who had already been out of sorts for most of the time. . A new grief that has recently been added for Princess Marya was the lessons that she gave to her six-year-old nephew. In her relations with Nikolushka, she recognized with horror in herself the quality of her father's irritability. How many times she told herself that she should not allow herself to get excited when teaching her nephew, almost every time she sat down with a pointer at the French alphabet, she so wanted to quickly, easily pour her knowledge out of herself into a child who was already afraid that here was her aunt she would be angry that, at the slightest inattention on the part of the boy, she shuddered, hurried, got excited, raised her voice, sometimes pulled his hand and put him in a corner. Putting him in a corner, she herself began to weep over her evil, bad nature, and Nikolushka, imitating her sobs, would leave the corner without permission, come up to her and pull her wet hands away from her face, and console her. But more, more than anything else, the princess was distressed by her father's irritability, which was always directed against her daughter and had recently reached the point of cruelty. If he had forced her to bow down all night, if he had beaten her, forced her to carry firewood and water, it would never have occurred to her that her situation was difficult; but this loving tormentor, the most cruel because he loved and for that he tormented himself and her, deliberately knew how not only to insult and humiliate her, but also to prove to her that she was always and in everything to blame. Recently, a new trait appeared in him, which tormented Princess Mary most of all - it was his closer rapprochement with m lle Bourienne. The thought that came to him, in the first minute after receiving the news of his son’s intention, was the joke that if Andrei marries, then he himself marries Bourienne, apparently liked him, and with stubbornness lately (as it seemed to Princess Mary) only in order to insult her, he showed a special kindness to m lle Bourienne and showed his displeasure to his daughter by showing love to Bourienne.
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On January 28, 1986, at the 73rd second after launch from the launch site at Cape Canaveral in Florida, the American space shuttle Challenger exploded at an altitude of 14.5 kilometers above the Atlantic Ocean. It happened in front of millions of viewers who followed the live broadcast.
The entire crew, consisting of 7 people, died. The ship was the first non-professional astronaut, a school teacher who won a national competition for the right to make this space flight. At that time, it was the largest disaster in the history of space exploration, and it shocked the whole world.
Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of this tragedy and the death of the brave crew who gave their lives for the exploration of outer space.
Christa McAuliffe, the schoolteacher who won the national competition to fly the Challenger into space, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A whole generation has grown up since her death, including her own students. It was her dream to go into space. (Photo taken in 1985 | AP):
The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger. From left to right: Specialist Allison Onizuka, Pilot Mike Smith, School Teacher Krista McAuliffe, Commander Francis Scobie, Specialists Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair and Judith Resnick. (Photo 1986 | NASA):
Christa McAuliffe is walking with daughter Caroline and son Scott. (Photo 1985 | Janet Knott | The Boston Globe):
Christa McAuliffe was the first non-professional astronaut to win a national competition for the right to make this space flight. (Photo 1985 | Janet Knott | The Boston Globe):
Christa McAuliffe jogging with friends in her hometown of Concord, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jim Cole | AP):
Christa McAuliffe celebrates with friends at her home after winning the competition. She has just returned from the White House. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter | The Concord Monitor):
McAuliffe during a training flight on January 2, 1986, a day after she arrived at NASA:
McAuliffe preparing to fly a NASA T-38 trainer in September 1985 This flight was part of her training for spacecraft flight in 1986:
During a training flight on a T-38 aircraft. (Photo taken in 1986 | AP):
Krista McAuliffe holds a manipulator arm on the deck of the spacecraft simulator at Johnson Space Center in July 1985. (UPI photo):
Simulation of weightlessness at the Johnson Space Center in October 1985. (UPI photo):
Christa McAuliffe signing autographs as the first non-professional astronaut to fly into space. (Photo 1985 | Suzanne Kreiter | AP):
Christa McAuliffe in front of the Space Shuttle Challenger, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, October 1985. (Photo by Jim Neihouse | AP):
Before leaving for the launch pad. (Photo by Janet Knott | The Boston Globe):
The spacecraft crew arrives at the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Commander Francis Scobie leads the way, followed by Flight Specialists Judith Resnick, Ronald McNair, Payload Specialist Gregory Jarvis, Flight Specialist Allison Onizuka, teacher Krista McAuliffe, and pilot Michael Smith. (Photo by Steve Helber | AP):
Go! Launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger at Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 11:38 am EST (MSK = EST + 8), January 28, 1986. (Photo by NASA):
Classmates of the son of teacher Christa McAuliffe are watching the start. (Photo by Jim Cole | AP):
A sequence of images taken by NASA showing a fiery plume from the Challenger's right solid rocket booster. This led to the explosion. (Photo HO | AFP):
73 seconds after liftoff, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. This picture has become an icon, symbolizing a national tragedy. (Photo by Bruce Weaver | AP):
Christa McAuliffe's family hears a spacecraft malfunction warning from NASA's public address system. (Photo 1986 | Janet Knott | The Boston Globe):
People watch the wreckage of the Space Shuttle Challenger fall from the sky. (Photo by Keith Meyers | The New York Times):
NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw reports that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded and all seven astronauts died. (Photo by NBC News):
President Ronald Reagan and members of his team watch a TV replay of the ship's explosion at the White House. (Photo by Craig Fuji | AP):
Customer and employees of a consumer electronics store. They watched the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger in the store. (Photo 1986 | Charles Krupa | AP):
This is one of two parts from the Challenger that washed ashore in Florida on December 17, 1996. (Photo by Malcolm Denemark | AP):
A cross and a wreath with a photograph of the Space Shuttle "Challenger" on the coast of Florida. (Photo 1986 | Jim Neihouse | AP):
The wreckage of the Challenger ship is pulled out of the ocean. (AP Photo):
Members of the Presidential Commission on Causes of Space Disaster walk past a solid rocket booster at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (AP Photo):
Found debris from the Space Shuttle Challenger, decomposed at the Kennedy Space Center in March 1986. (NASA photo):
Soldiers carry the remains of Christa McAuliffe at a US military base. (Photo 1986 Janet Knott | The Boston Globe):
The grave of Christa McAuliffe, the first non-professional astronaut to win a national competition for the right to make this tragic space flight. (Photo by Jim Cole | AP):
