Challenger Explosion

A detailed Summary of Challenger Explosion


At 11:38 A.M. on the morning of Tuesday, January 28, 1986, millions of Americans watched as the space shuttle Challenger lifted off. Seventy-three seconds later, millions of Americans watched in horror as the Challenger disintegrated into a huge ball of fire. It was the twenty-fifth space shuttle mission and the tenth launch of the Challenger. Unfortunately, it would also be the last launch for the Challenger.

Dick Scobee was the mission commander. His crew included Mike Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. The launch was already a very big deal in the United States, but the fact that a teacher would be going into space made the event even bigger. Christa McAuliffe was chosen by NASA to be the first civilian in space.

Many things contributed to the Challenger disaster, but what really happened? To start off with, the launch date had been changed several times due to poor weather, additional cre


All in all, "the Challenger disaster could have been prevented if a decision was made to scrub the launch." It was obvious that on that mission, engineers did not have the final say.

That problem was just the beginning. Much, much more went wrong before launch time. For instance, the ships scheduled to recover the booster rocks were grounded because of high winds. Also, the launch pad was very cold and the shuttle was under a constant threat of ice formation. Other problems included a malfunctioning alarm system. Despite all these problems, NASA decided to launch. That decision would haunt them forever.

Forty-five seconds after takeoff, a small puff of smoke was released and the crew was jolted. A few of them activated their emergency air and locator devices unsuccessfully. The shuttle section tore away from the booster rockets and with the conscious crew inside; the cabin plummeted helplessly into the Atlantic Ocean, where it smashed on impact,

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 651
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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