Space Shuttle Challenger Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Space Shuttle Challenger - Research Paper Example Around 73 seconds after the flight of the space shuttle it was seen that it exploded in the sky. The loss was terrible to a country that was looking for the success of the space shuttle. The space shuttle had seven astronauts who were killed instantly after the explosion. A teacher known as Christi McAuliffe was also in the crew members and she also died in the explosion. The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion occurred because of several reasons and was not associated to a single problem. Even after 25 years of the explosion the people of America have not forgotten the incident and it is still remembered all over. The National Aeronautics Space Association has taken several steps to ensure that such an accident does not occur again. This essay would further revolve around the Space Shuttle Challenger and would provide information regarding it (Travers et al 2011). History The concept of Space shuttle originated in the 1960s when Apollo was being built by the authorities. Ever since t he genesis of the shuttle project the authorities tried to build a space shuttle which could be used again for future missions. Initially the space shuttle challenger was known as STA-099 and worked as a test vehicle but soon it was to be converted into a space bound shuttle. In 1979 the National Aeronautics Space Association gave the contract of converting STA-099 into an orbiter OV-099. It was in that very year that the process began and was completed soon enough without going into much hassle. OV-099 was known as the Challenger and reached the grounds of Kennedy Space Center in 1982. The word ‘Challenger’ was given to the shuttle because of the success of a research naval vessel known as HMS Challenger. Similarly the name of the lunar module of Apollo 17 was also Challenger. The Space Shuttle underwent many tests before finally going on the mission in 1986 which changed the course of history. It launched almost 21 missions from the year of 1982 to 1986 and all of the se missions were successful except for the last one (Presidential Commission 1986; NASA, Space Shuttle Overview 2011). Mission The Space Shuttle Challenger was go on a mission called STS-51L which had several targets to be achieved. The mission of the space shuttle was to deploy a satellite known as TDRS-B. The mission included a program known as Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program (CHAMP) along with a video program known as the Teacher in space program. The program teacher in space had become very popular amongst the masses as a teacher was also included in the group of astronauts leaving in the challenger. Fluid dynamics experiment was also planned by the astronauts, which had to be broadcasted by the teacher. The teacher was entitled to provide two lectures to the students so that they could know more about life in space. It was believed that the program by the teacher would help to create an interest amongst the students and this would be a revolution in the arena of educatio n (NASA, Mission Archives 2011). Crew Members The mission 51-L consisted of around seven astronauts who unfortunately were not able to complete their task because of mishaps. Francis Scobee was the commander of the space shuttle and had previous experience of flying the shuttle on the 41-C mission. Michael Smith was selected as the captain of the shuttle and this was his first experience on a space shuttle. Colonel Ellison Onizuka played the role of a test engineer and had prior experience in space shuttle