A DOCUMENTARY PICTURE A LARGE FRAGMENT OF THE CHALLENGER SPACE SHUTTLE WAS FOUND WHILE SEARCHING FOR THE WRECK OF A WW2 AIRCRAFT OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA, UNITED STATES.
NASA operated the Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099), a Space Shuttle orbiter built by Rockwell International. After Space Shuttle Columbia, Challenger was the second orbit shuttle to launch into space, with its initial launch taking place in April 1983. (OV-102).
All seven crew members onboard the Challenger died in January 1986 when it disintegrated shortly after takeoff. Two redundant O-ring seals failed shortly after takeoff, releasing hot pressurized gas from the right solid rocket booster (SRB), which ignited and burnt through the aft connection strut linking it to the external propellant tank, causing the tragedy (ET). This resulted in the aerodynamic forces breaking the shuttle apart along with a number of other causes.
NASA’s safety culture was significantly impacted by the loss of Challenger and later Columbia with its seven astronauts, which disintegrated on re-entry in February 2003 over the western United States.
Off the Florida Space Coast, while filming for a new History Channel documentary, a piece of the Challenger was found. NASA specialists examined underwater video and verified the location by looking for 8-inch (20-centimeter) square thermal protection (heat shield) tiles.
“This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. The fundamental principle of safety is and must always be our top priority at NASA, particularly as our missions explore more of the cosmos than ever.
According to Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro, “Challenger and her crew live on in the hearts and memories of both NASA and the country.” Today, as we shift our attention back to the Moon and Mars, we can see that the same passion for exploration that the Challenger crew had is still motivating the astronauts of the Artemis Generation to further human knowledge and discovery.
