36 years have passed since Challenger shuttle it disintegrated just 73 seconds after launch. It carried seven crew members who died instantly, making it one of the largest space disasters in history. Both NASA and other agencies have spent all this time optimizing their security measures to prevent something like this from happening again. To do this, the first step was to understand what had happened, which also included recovering as much of the ship’s remains as possible. But it wasn’t easy. Many of them seemed to be lost forever. However, almost 4 decades later 6 meter fragment He appeared in the most unexpected place.
It was discovered by a group of divers from historical channel while they were filming footage for a documentary about boats lost in Bermuda Triangleyes It is logical to assume that the last thing they expected was to find the wreckage of the spaceship. But as soon as they saw it, they understood it was not a ship.
Suspecting it was a spaceship, they quickly posted the images. available to NASAwho quickly confirmed that it was one of the missing pieces Challenger. Now, together with the families of the victims, they are planning what to do with him. For now, the recording will be part of a documentary that will air on November 22, but they hope they can do something else.
Challenger: the story of a tragedy
The Challenger spacecraft was tasked with putting two satellites into orbit. TDRS-B and SPARTAN-Halley. The mission, which was supposed to last six days, also included NASA’s new space program, which allowed a civilian to fly into space for the first time.
It was about the teacher. Christa McAuliffe, who would also become the first teacher outside of Earth. However, she and the other six crew members, Francis Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Allison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis and Judith Resnickdied after launch.
A broken connection in the rocket propelling the spacecraft caused one of the fuel tanks to explode, causing the spacecraft to almost completely collapse just 73 seconds after launch.
Fragments hit Florida for 45 minutescomplicates rescue operations. Finally managed to collect some of the remains and among them a habitable compartment with seven dead on board. It is not known when they all died. However, autopsy showed that some survived the explosion, but not the impact with the ocean.
The news came as a shock to the whole world, which forced a radical change NASA plans. Shuttles did not go into space again until 1988, when security measures were tightened. Thus, another fatal accident was avoided until 2003, when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry, again killing seven crew members.
Unexpected find near the Bermuda Triangle
Divers historical channel recorded near the Bermuda Triangle, before Florida Shoreswhen they found a 6-meter fragment that caught their attention. It didn’t look like it belonged to any ship, but perhaps to some space ship.
They put the find known to NASAwhich soon confirmed the suspicions. In fact, the site in question was not particularly close to Cape Canaveral, but the force of the explosion threw the wreckage a long distance.
Those in charge of the documentary have received permission to broadcast the images on the following November 22. Now it remains only to decide what to do with this unexpected piece of the Challenger. Those that were found at one time remain on display in Kennedy Space Complex Visitor Center, from NASA. There, a permanent exhibition is dedicated to the seven crew members who died during the mission. Therefore, their relatives will decide what to do with this new fragment. Further investigation is not required, as the reasons for what happened are clear. This piece of metal is just a memory of a nightmare that reminds us of the importance of taking extreme precautions in a space launch.
Source: Hiper Textual
