The Challenger Disaster

Cape Canaveral, Florida

On January 26th, 1986, America watched as space shuttle Challenger prepared for launch. Little did they know that they were about to witness a sober lesson in safety and technology.

This disaster claimed the lives of: Francis R. Scobee, Commander; Michael J. Smith, Pilot; Judith A. Resnik; Ellison S. Onizuka; Ronald E. McNair; Gregory B. Jarvis; and Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a teacher participating in the Teacher In Space Project or TISP.

NASA researchers believe that the explosion of the Challenger was caused by an unfortunate chain of events. It is also believed that any one of the problems described would not have destroyed the shuttle, but only the combinations of the flaws could cause such a disaster, leaving the idea that this was somewhere between an engineering flaw and a freak accident.

The first flaw found was "o-ring erosion." These are rubber rings that although chemically engineered to withstand high temperatures, would still break down under temperaturess they would experience because of the next flaw: "blow holes."

Blow holes were small holes in the zinc chromate putty that sealed the o-rings to the rocket components. During testing they found that high pressures made small holes in the putty, allowing hot gases to leak, but the drop in pressure allowed the o-rings to seal faster.

So, like the eroded o-rings, blow holes were considered acceptable by management and were normally present in the Challenger's putty.

The final flaw came, regrettably, after ignition; the temperature difference between the top part of the rocket where the fuel kept temperatures low and the bottom section where the afterburners produced a significant heat source caused the rocket to flex and bend.

This, in turn, opened a hole in the faulty sealant and the undersized o-ring which allowed a large volume of outgassing at extremely high temperatures, a veritable blowtorch that breached the main fuel tank and ignited the fuel.

The fuel tank's contents ignited explosively, literally blowing the Challenger into fragments. These fell into the ocean, and the lives of the entire crew were lost.

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