COLUMBIA TRAGEDY RECALLS CHALLENGER DISASTER
The circumstances were different -- they were coming home, not vaulting into space -- but again there was the familiar jolt to the gut.
Once again the great space adventure that began 42 years ago claimed seven lives. Once again flags across the land were lowered to half-staff. Once again, the president of the United States had to deliver the news to the nation.
Like space shuttle Challenger, 17 years and four days earlier, the end for Columbia came in a tremendous burst of light. In Challenger's case, the capsule housing the astronauts was hurtled 8.7 miles to the sea below. Columbia was 38 miles high over Texas when it was enveloped in flames on Saturday.
Challenger's end was only 73 seconds after liftoff. Columbia's was in the last 16 minutes of a 17-day flight, not far from the runway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The last time this happened, NASA learned from on-board voice recorders that Challenger's astronauts lived through much of the capsule's death plunge. But the force of the crash ended any chance for life. On Saturday, there was no chance at all in Columbia's breakup high above Earth's atmosphere.
In the anguished hours after the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986, President Reagan canceled his State of the Union speech scheduled for that evening.
"The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave," Reagan said.
"We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space."
It was more than 2 1/2 years later before shuttle flights would resume.
The Challenger explosion followed what had been described as a nearly flawless launch. Soon afterward, the word came from NASA's Steve Nesbitt, "We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded. Flight director confirms that."
Challenger did not "explode" in the common sense of the word; it was set aflame by a leak in the seals of one of its right booster rockets.
"No other element of the space shuttle system contributed to this failure," according to a presidential commission that looked into the accident.
The commission criticized NASA for ignoring evidence that other booster rockets had leaks. A rash of firings at top levels followed the Challenger crash.
Among the Challenger crew on that winter day in 1986 was a schoolteacher, Christa McAuliffe, who had hoped to give lessons from space. Just last week, NASA announced it would hire three to six teachers for its next astronaut class.
The Challenger flight was No. 25 in the shuttle series. Increasingly, NASA had been under pressure to fly more, carry more and earn back the enormous cost of the space shuttle program.
"Fast turnaround" became a way of life. On each workday, as they passed through the Kennedy Space Center gates, engineers and janitors alike were reminded by signboards of how many days it was until launch.
NASA went to great lengths to shave a day here and there off the turnaround time. Yet, NASA never hesitated to delay a flight for safety reasons. The weather had to be right, the ship had to be right. And the agency always insisted that safety was its prime concern.
The plan originally was to launch 24 shuttles a year but before long the agency realized it could not meet the goal.
The Challenger accident caused a more than two-year hiatus in launches as the agency made numerous changes. It firmed up the "O-ring" seals in the rocket booster joints, created an escape system within the spacecraft, and firmed up its error reporting system.
Harry F. Rosenthal covered the U.S. space program for more than 30 years.
DEADLY ACCIDENTS
Astronauts and cosmonauts killed in the history of space exploration:
-- Jan. 27, 1967: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee die when a fire sweeps their command module during a ground test at Kennedy Space Center.
-- April 24, 1967: Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov is killed when his Soyuz I spacecraft crashes on return to Earth.
-- June 29, 1971: Cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev die during re-entry of their Soyuz 11 spacecraft. A government commission disclosed that the three died 30 minutes before landing because a faulty valve depressurized the spacecraft.
-- Jan. 28, 1986: The space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, intended to be the first teacher in space. Other astronauts killed were Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.
-- Saturday: Space shuttle Columbia breaks apart in flames about 203,000 feet over Texas, 16 minutes before it was supposed to touch down in Florida. All seven aboard were killed: William McCool, Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, who was Israel's first astronaut.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ON THE WEB
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: www.jpl.nasa.gov
NASA Shuttle: spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle
Space.com: www.space.com
Kennedy Space Center: www.ksc.nasa.gov
Houston Space Center: www.spacecenter.org
NASA Multimedia Gallery: www.nasa.gov/gallery/index.html
WFAA debris video: www.wfaa.com/watchvideo/index.jsp?SID3680341
NASA Shuttle Launches: science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/missions.html
Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland: www.gsfc.nasa.gov
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.: www.msfc.nasa.gov
SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA: NASA'S oldest space shuttle
First flown in 1981, Columbia was the oldest NASA space orbiter, flying on its 28th mission.
-- Last refurbished in 1999
-- Too heavy to reach the International Space Station (three other shuttles are used for those flights)
-- High-tech multi-functional electronic display system or "glass cockpit"
-- Named after 18th century Boston-based sloop ship that successfully navigated the dangerous mouth of the Columbia River
Distinguishing marks: The Columbia had dirt and corresion on its nose and sides, and an empty pod on the tail which once held a camera.
Crew on current mission: Seven
Orbital speed: 17,600 mph
Nominal touchdown speed: 212-226 mph
Features: Lifts off vertically with boosters and re-enters atmosphere after mission for unpowered aerodynamic landing on airfield.
Matterials on outer skin are designed to perform a minimum of 100 missions, in which termperatures will ange from -250 F in space to re-entry temperatures of nearly 3,000 F
Columbia dimensions:
56 ft. 8 in.
78 ft. 0.68 in.
122 ft. 2 in.
NASA'S space shuttle fleet:
DISCOVERY
Weight: 171,000 lbs.
First flight: Aug. 30, 1984
Number of flights:30
ATLANTIS
Weight: 17,100 lbs.
First flight: Oct. 3, 1985
Number of flights 26
ENDEAVOUR
Weight: 172,000 lbs.
First flight: May 7, 1992
Number of flights: 19
COLUMBIA
Weight: 178,000 lbs
First Flight: April 12, 1981
Lost in flight Feb. 1, 2003
Number of flights: 28
Crew members lost:
Rick Husband, shuttle commander
Michael Anderson, payload commander
William McCool, pilot
Dr. David Brown, mission specialist
Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist
Dr. Laurel Clark, mission specialist
Ilan Ramon, payload specialist
CHALLENGER
Weight: 175,111 lbs.
First flight: April 4, 1983
Exploded on launch Jan. 28, 1986
Number of flights: 10
Crew members lost:
Francis Scobee, shuttle commander
Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist
Michael Smith, pilot
Judy Resnick, mission specialist
Ronald McNair, mission specialist
Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist
Christa McAuliffe, teacher
SOURCES: NASA, KRT, The Associated Press
The circumstances were different -- they were coming home, not vaulting into space -- but again there was the familiar jolt to the gut.
Once again the great space adventure that began 42 years ago claimed seven lives. Once again flags across the land were lowered to half-staff. Once again, the president of the United States had to deliver the news to the nation.
Like space shuttle Challenger, 17 years and four days earlier, the end for Columbia came in a tremendous burst of light. In Challenger's case, the capsule housing the astronauts was hurtled 8.7 miles to the sea below. Columbia was 38 miles high over Texas when it was enveloped in flames on Saturday.
Challenger's end was only 73 seconds after liftoff. Columbia's was in the last 16 minutes of a 17-day flight, not far from the runway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The last time this happened, NASA learned from on-board voice recorders that Challenger's astronauts lived through much of the capsule's death plunge. But the force of the crash ended any chance for life. On Saturday, there was no chance at all in Columbia's breakup high above Earth's atmosphere.
In the anguished hours after the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986, President Reagan canceled his State of the Union speech scheduled for that evening.
"The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave," Reagan said.
"We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space."
It was more than 2 1/2 years later before shuttle flights would resume.
The Challenger explosion followed what had been described as a nearly flawless launch. Soon afterward, the word came from NASA's Steve Nesbitt, "We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded. Flight director confirms that."
Challenger did not "explode" in the common sense of the word; it was set aflame by a leak in the seals of one of its right booster rockets.
"No other element of the space shuttle system contributed to this failure," according to a presidential commission that looked into the accident.
The commission criticized NASA for ignoring evidence that other booster rockets had leaks. A rash of firings at top levels followed the Challenger crash.
Among the Challenger crew on that winter day in 1986 was a schoolteacher, Christa McAuliffe, who had hoped to give lessons from space. Just last week, NASA announced it would hire three to six teachers for its next astronaut class.
The Challenger flight was No. 25 in the shuttle series. Increasingly, NASA had been under pressure to fly more, carry more and earn back the enormous cost of the space shuttle program.
"Fast turnaround" became a way of life. On each workday, as they passed through the Kennedy Space Center gates, engineers and janitors alike were reminded by signboards of how many days it was until launch.
NASA went to great lengths to shave a day here and there off the turnaround time. Yet, NASA never hesitated to delay a flight for safety reasons. The weather had to be right, the ship had to be right. And the agency always insisted that safety was its prime concern.
The plan originally was to launch 24 shuttles a year but before long the agency realized it could not meet the goal.
The Challenger accident caused a more than two-year hiatus in launches as the agency made numerous changes. It firmed up the "O-ring" seals in the rocket booster joints, created an escape system within the spacecraft, and firmed up its error reporting system.
Harry F. Rosenthal covered the U.S. space program for more than 30 years.
DEADLY ACCIDENTS
Astronauts and cosmonauts killed in the history of space exploration:
-- Jan. 27, 1967: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee die when a fire sweeps their command module during a ground test at Kennedy Space Center.
-- April 24, 1967: Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov is killed when his Soyuz I spacecraft crashes on return to Earth.
-- June 29, 1971: Cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev die during re-entry of their Soyuz 11 spacecraft. A government commission disclosed that the three died 30 minutes before landing because a faulty valve depressurized the spacecraft.
-- Jan. 28, 1986: The space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, intended to be the first teacher in space. Other astronauts killed were Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.
-- Saturday: Space shuttle Columbia breaks apart in flames about 203,000 feet over Texas, 16 minutes before it was supposed to touch down in Florida. All seven aboard were killed: William McCool, Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, who was Israel's first astronaut.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ON THE WEB
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: www.jpl.nasa.gov
NASA Shuttle: spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle
Space.com: www.space.com
Kennedy Space Center: www.ksc.nasa.gov
Houston Space Center: www.spacecenter.org
NASA Multimedia Gallery: www.nasa.gov/gallery/index.html
WFAA debris video: www.wfaa.com/watchvideo/index.jsp?SID3680341
NASA Shuttle Launches: science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/missions.html
Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland: www.gsfc.nasa.gov
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.: www.msfc.nasa.gov
SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA: NASA'S oldest space shuttle
First flown in 1981, Columbia was the oldest NASA space orbiter, flying on its 28th mission.
-- Last refurbished in 1999
-- Too heavy to reach the International Space Station (three other shuttles are used for those flights)
-- High-tech multi-functional electronic display system or "glass cockpit"
-- Named after 18th century Boston-based sloop ship that successfully navigated the dangerous mouth of the Columbia River
Distinguishing marks: The Columbia had dirt and corresion on its nose and sides, and an empty pod on the tail which once held a camera.
Crew on current mission: Seven
Orbital speed: 17,600 mph
Nominal touchdown speed: 212-226 mph
Features: Lifts off vertically with boosters and re-enters atmosphere after mission for unpowered aerodynamic landing on airfield.
Matterials on outer skin are designed to perform a minimum of 100 missions, in which termperatures will ange from -250 F in space to re-entry temperatures of nearly 3,000 F
Columbia dimensions:
56 ft. 8 in.
78 ft. 0.68 in.
122 ft. 2 in.
NASA'S space shuttle fleet:
DISCOVERY
Weight: 171,000 lbs.
First flight: Aug. 30, 1984
Number of flights:30
ATLANTIS
Weight: 17,100 lbs.
First flight: Oct. 3, 1985
Number of flights 26
ENDEAVOUR
Weight: 172,000 lbs.
First flight: May 7, 1992
Number of flights: 19
COLUMBIA
Weight: 178,000 lbs
First Flight: April 12, 1981
Lost in flight Feb. 1, 2003
Number of flights: 28
Crew members lost:
Rick Husband, shuttle commander
Michael Anderson, payload commander
William McCool, pilot
Dr. David Brown, mission specialist
Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist
Dr. Laurel Clark, mission specialist
Ilan Ramon, payload specialist
CHALLENGER
Weight: 175,111 lbs.
First flight: April 4, 1983
Exploded on launch Jan. 28, 1986
Number of flights: 10
Crew members lost:
Francis Scobee, shuttle commander
Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist
Michael Smith, pilot
Judy Resnick, mission specialist
Ronald McNair, mission specialist
Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist
Christa McAuliffe, teacher
SOURCES: NASA, KRT, The Associated Press