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Space Shuttle Challenger
 
 
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Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System , is the United States government's current manned...
 orbiter to be put into service, ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet....
 being the first. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-LSTS-51-L

STS-51-L was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Challenger, launched January 28, 1986....
 on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members. (For more on the Challenger disaster, see Space Shuttle Challenger disasterSpace Shuttle Challenger disaster

The Space Shuttle Challenger accident occurred on the morning of January 28 1986, at 11:39 EST, when Space Shuttle Cha...
.) The accident led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet, with missions resuming in 1988 with the launch of on STS-26STS-26

colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">...
. Challenger herself was replaced by the , which first launched in 1992.
HistoryChallenger was named after HMS ChallengerHMS Challenger (1858)

The fifth HMS Challenger was a steam assisted British naval corvette....
, a British corvetteCorvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate but larger than a coastal patrol craft....
 which carried out a pioneering global marine research expeditionChallenger expedition

The Challenger Expedition was a scientific expedition that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography....
 in the 1870s.
ConstructionThe shuttle was constructed by using a body frame (STA- 099) that had initially been built as a test article.






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Timeline

1984   Aboard the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.

1986   Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disintegrates 73 seconds after launch, killing its crew of 6 astronauts and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

1988   NASA resumes space shuttle flights, grounded after the Challenger disaster.






Encyclopedia


Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System , is the United States government's current manned...
 orbiter to be put into service, ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet....
 being the first. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-LSTS-51-L

STS-51-L was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Challenger, launched January 28, 1986....
 on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members. (For more on the Challenger disaster, see Space Shuttle Challenger disasterSpace Shuttle Challenger disaster

The Space Shuttle Challenger accident occurred on the morning of January 28 1986, at 11:39 EST, when Space Shuttle Cha...
.) The accident led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet, with missions resuming in 1988 with the launch of on STS-26STS-26

colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">...
. Challenger herself was replaced by the , which first launched in 1992.

History

Challenger was named after HMS ChallengerHMS Challenger (1858)

The fifth HMS Challenger was a steam assisted British naval corvette....
, a British corvetteCorvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate but larger than a coastal patrol craft....
 which carried out a pioneering global marine research expeditionChallenger expedition

The Challenger Expedition was a scientific expedition that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography....
 in the 1870s.

Construction

The shuttle was constructed by using a body frame (STA- 099) that had initially been built as a test article. STA-099 was not originally intended for spaceflight, but NASA found that recycling it would be less expensive than refitting the prototype orbiter EnterpriseSpace Shuttle Enterprise

The Space Shuttle Enterprise was the first Space Shuttle built for NASA....
 (OV-101) to be spaceworthy, as originally planned.

Challenger (and the orbiters built after it) had fewer tiles in its Thermal Protection SystemSpace shuttle thermal protection system

The space shuttle thermal protection system is the barrier that protects the space shuttle during the searing 3000 F heat of...
 than ColumbiaFacts About Space Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet....
. Most of the tiles on the payload bay doors, upper wing surface and rear fuselage surface were replaced with DuPontDuPont

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company was founded in July 1802 as a gun powder mill by Eleuthre Irne du Pont on Brandywine Cre...
 white nomexNomex

NOMEX is the registered brand name of a flame retardant meta-aramid material marketed and first discovered by DuPont in the ...
 felt insulation. This modification allowed Challenger to carry 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) more payload than Columbia. Challenger was also the first orbiter to have a head-up displayHead-Up Display

A Head-Up Display, also known as a Heads-Up Display or simply HUD, is any type of display that presents data wit...
 system for use in the descentSpace Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System , is the United States government's current manned...
 phase of a mission.

Loss of Challenger


Challenger was destroyed in the second minute of STS-51-L, the orbiter's tenth mission, on January 28, 1986, when an O-ringO-ring

An O-ring is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section used as a mechanical seal or gasket....
 seal on its right solid rocket boosterSpace Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster is the rocket that provides 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle....
 (SRB) failed. The O-rings failed to seal due to a variety of factors, including unusually cold temperatures. This failure allowed a plume of flame to leak out of the SRB and impinge on both the external fuel tankSpace Shuttle external tank

The Space Shuttle External Tank contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer and supplies them under pressur...
 (ET) and SRB aft attachment strut. This caused both structural failure of the ET and the SRB pivoting into the orbiter and ET. The vehicle assembly then broke apart under aerodynamic loads.

See also

  • List of human spaceflightsList of human spaceflights

    For a detailed listing of human spaceflights, see:...
  • List of Space Shuttle crews
  • List of space shuttle missionsList of space shuttle missions

    -||}This is a list of missions flown by space shuttles....
  • Timeline of Space Shuttle missionsTimeline of Space Shuttle missions

    Timeline of space shuttle missions...
  • List of human spaceflights chronologicallyList of human spaceflights chronologically

    Some debate exists over the definition of space, and hence that of spaceflight....
  • Challenger flagChallenger flag

    The Challenger flag was an American flag that was in the flight kit of the final Challenger mission....
  • Rendez-vous HoustonRendez-vous Houston

    Rendez-vous Houston was a concert performed by musician Jean-Michel Jarre on the skyscrapers of Downtown Houston on the even...
  • Morton Thiokol
  • Roger BoisjolyRoger Boisjoly

    Roger Boisjoly was an engineer who worked for Morton Thiokol, the manufacturer of the solid rocket boosters of the space shu...


External links

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