General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHermit-The-Prog
(33,349 posts)We lost that crew because politicians overrode the engineers.
denbot
(9,900 posts)The original All hat, no cattle president.
Duppers
(28,125 posts)Hubs worked at NASALarc & called me that morning, telling me he told his branch head it was too cold to launch. There were components that had not been tested at freezing and hubs was really worried. Turned out to be the O-rings that couldn't seal at that temp. Leaked fuel.
Reagan was pushing because of the teacher onboard and HQ didn't want to disappoint the president. It was not the scientists or engineers fault but the uppity-ups sucking up to Reagun.
I cried all day.
Stuart G
(38,434 posts)democrank
(11,096 posts)UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)Snackshack
(2,541 posts)Completely avoidable tragedy.
RIP.
lapfog_1
(29,205 posts)Utah insisted that Morton - Thiokol be allowed to bid on making them.
The other bidder could float the SRBs down the intercoastal waterway to the Cape for assembly and launch. They had to be segmented (with those crap ass O rings ) to allow shipment by rail from Utah.
Duppers
(28,125 posts)Thanks to politicians.
lpbk2713
(42,759 posts)It felt kind of morbid to watch it come down because my friend and I knew no one was going to survive.
diverdownjt
(702 posts)I really loved our space program.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)Family was on vacation. We didnt know what had happened until we got back in the car and turned on the radio.
lapfog_1
(29,205 posts)These two disasters book-ended my NASA career. When I joined not long after Challenger, many people that I worked with, especially the ones involved with either the launch systems or the post disaster analysis, suffered from (I am sure) PTSD.
The second disaster affected me personally as I knew "KC" Chawla... she had an office just down the row from mine. She was one of my most vocal users of the systems I built... and could be a hard critic or very warm co-worker. I had left NASA just shortly before the disaster.
Duppers
(28,125 posts)I'm so sorry.
Demovictory9
(32,457 posts)katmondoo
(6,457 posts)Reagan was also in my thoughts, did he care?
lunatica
(53,410 posts)What a tragedy.
On edit I see post #11 has the answer.
B Stieg
(2,410 posts)The o-rings were made to work within certain temperatures, but it wasn't just the cold day that led to them failing, apparently.
(https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_Colloquium1012.html)
I was watching the launch before teaching my first class of the day (hs), and there was a teacher, Christa McAuliffe, on board.
I'll never forget it.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Her class were watching the launch. She was the first, or one of the first civilians to go to space wasnt she? It was a huge deal.
Volaris
(10,272 posts)Duppers
(28,125 posts)Had missed reading this in "The Researcher." Forwarded it to hubs (spent his career at Langley, now retired).
B Stieg
(2,410 posts)Actually, I did not know of "The Researcher." Really interesting site.
rocktivity
(44,576 posts)Last edited Wed Jan 29, 2020, 12:47 PM - Edit history (1)
of the engineer who thought the launch should be stopped:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/101446387
rocktivity
Dem2theMax
(9,651 posts)They all happened within days of each other, yet years apart.
To this day I remember how blue the sky was, the morning that Columbia broke up on re-entry. I remember how painful it was to look at that gorgeous blue sky, and to know that the crew would never again get to see it.
Apollo 1
Challenger
Columbia
czarjak
(11,278 posts)gademocrat7
(10,659 posts)bobbieinok
(12,858 posts)IIRC he was a real sexist and said he lost because 'they' wanted a woman as teacher