What was the Challenger Disaster?

The Space Shuttle Challenger was launched over Florida on January 28, 1986 at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 GMT). After the space shuttle Challenger took off, the O-ring seal of the solid rocket booster (SRB) on the right failed, and the adjacent external fuel tank failed due to the high temperature burning of the leaked flame, which caused high-speed flight. The space shuttle disintegrated under the influence of air resistance at 73 seconds after launch, and all 7 astronauts on board were killed. The wreckage of the Challenger was scattered in the sea and was later salvaged by a remote search and rescue team.

Challenger space shuttle disaster

The catastrophic accident caused the US space shuttle flight to be frozen for 32 months. During this period, the President of the United States

Challenger space shuttle disaster media response

Krista McAuliffe, a teacher in New Hampshire, was a crew member of the Challenger, which caused some media interest to broadcast live at the launch site, but only CNN provided a national broadcast. However, in a post-accident study, 17% of respondents said they watched the shuttle launch, and the remaining 85% said they learned of the accident within an hour. According to the author of the report, "Only two incidents were reported more quickly." (One was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas; the other was among Kent State University students. News of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt.) Another study mentioned that "even people who did not watch TV at the time of the accident will almost certainly be able to see the accident replay in the uninterrupted coverage of the TV station a few days after the incident Time image. " According to polls in the New York Times, more children see live accidents than adults because 48% of students between the ages of nine and thirteen watch live television at school. From the day of the accident, the media has maintained a high degree of attention. There were only 535 reporters reporting at the launch site, but three days later there were 1,467 reporters at the Kennedy Space Center and another 1040 reporters at the Johnson Space Center. Newspapers and magazines around the world have also made the headlines.

Challenger space shuttle disaster study case

Challenger's accidents are often the case of special research, such as engineering safety, ethics of uncovering disadvantages, communication and collective decision-making. In Canada and some other countries, it is part of what engineers must know before obtaining a professional license. Roger Boyce Jolly, an engineer who warned that O-rings would fail at low temperatures, quit his job at Morton Theoco and became a spokesman for workplace ethics. He believes that the core meeting convened by the management of Morton Theoco and its resulting recommendations on the launch "was caused by strong customer intimidation and led to unethical decision-making." , Texas A & M University, University of Texas at Austin, Drexel University, and Parker College of the University of Maryland, all use this accident as a lesson plan for engineering ethics.

Information designer Edward Tuft used the Challenger accident as an example to explain the problems that occur when the information is not clear. He believes that if Morton Theoko's engineers can more clearly express the data relationship between the joints of SRB components at low temperature and burn through, they may be able to convince NASA to cancel the launch of the space shuttle. Taft also believes that incomplete information expression may also affect NASA's decision on the Columbia's last flight.

Challenger space shuttle disaster pop culture

In 1990, a television movie called the Challenger reproduced the accident at the time of the Space Shuttle Challenger launch. In May 2006, another film about the accident was announced, and it was also called the Challenger. The film is directed by Philip Kauffman-his 1983 film The Right Stuff chronicles the history of early space programs-and will focus on the role of Richard Feynman's follow-up investigation into the accident.

Many other TV shows and movies have cited the Challenger incident, including:

NBC's TV situational comedy "Punky Brewster" arranged for Punch to react after seeing the disaster on school television in a March 1986 episode of "The Unexpected Occurrence". In previous plots, Pang Ji was very interested in becoming an astronaut, but she was afraid of encountering the same fate; the plot shows her fear of continuing to pursue development in the aviation industry, as well as her stepfather Henry, teacher Michael Fern How Dalton and former astronaut Adelin rebuild her dreams.

In the episode "Kansas" of the television series "Farscape", the protagonist travels back and forth in time and space to prevent his astronaut father from becoming a member of the Challenger mission.

The photographers and actors of the movie "Star Trek IV: Rescue the Future" hope to use this movie to commemorate the astronauts on the Challenger: "Their brave spirit will remain in the memory of the 23rd century and future generations."

Earlier, in the 1987 film "Wall Street" by Oliver Stone, John McKinley told Charlie Sheen that Gordon Moonlight (played by Michael Docklas) was on the shuttle Shortly after the explosion, NASA's stock was greedily sold within a few minutes (although NASA is a government agency and does not issue shares; and the incident occurred in 1985, which is anachronistic).

French electronic music artist Jean-Michel Jarre originally intended to work with astronaut Ronald McNair, who was also a close friend and saxophone ensemble, on his album Rendez. -Vous). After McNair's death, Jill made the album a McNair commemorative album; and a free concert in Houston to honor the astronauts on the Challenger. John Denver also wrote a carol "Flying For Me" for the Challenger astronaut in his "One World" album released in June 1986, ending with 73 Instrumental music played in seconds to commemorate this short flight.

More than one comic describes what would happen if the superhero rescued Challenger. In the early 1995 limited edition series of comics "Astro City", the Superman-like character Samaritan made his first public appearance, and he saved the aircraft to prevent this tragedy from leading the world to a desolate future. Although the "Superman" story did not directly mention the name of the Challenger, after the accident, the story did describe similar plots several times: including the first chapter of the 1986 graphic novel "The Man of Steel" (This is also Superman's first appearance as a steel warrior); a pilot episode of the television series "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" Airplane "), and the 2006 film" The Return of Superman. "

In 1996, in the drama "Hush" starring James Steele and Maggie, the protagonist talks about a dream in which she flies in space and sees Krista McKee Cowleaf teaches children to read at Venus. After she finished speaking, the reporter Jenna in the scene turned to Maggie's father Frank and said (about the Challenger disaster): "I was eating Mike chicken nuggets when it exploded."

In 2007, while celebrating the 25th anniversary of the newspaper, "USA Today" also made a profile called "Top 25 People Who Touched Us", including the space shuttle Challenger. Distressed astronaut. The list also includes 911 heroes and the late Princess Diana and others. ^[9]