Photo: Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. After the collapse of its fuel tank, the Challenger itself remained momentarily intact, and actually continued moving upwards. On the morning of January 28, 1986, what was meant to be a seminal moment for NASA and the future of space travel turned into a disaster that was viewed on live TV by millions around the country. Born on April 30, 1945, Challenger pilot Michael John Smith was 41 years old when he died in the explosion.
For the seven astronauts’ loved ones, Jan. 28, 1986, remains fresh in their minds.>>Photos: 30 years since space shuttle Challenger explosion Steven McAuliffe, a federal judge in …
* 50% plan to vote for the Democratic challenger, former astronaut Mike Kelly * 41% of likely voters polled Sept. 11 to 17 say they plan to vote for incumbent Republican Martha McSally, with the remaining voters undecided or planning to vote for another candidate * 3% say they have already voted. Judith Resnik.
FRANCIS RICHARD SCOBEE, COMMANDER OF CHALLENGER SPACE SHUTTLE, 3. Sections of the cabin were found 18 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral at a depth of 100 feet. NASA had, in fact, considered full crew ejection options back in 1971 when the shuttle was being designed, examining the feasibility of conventional ejection seats, encapsulated seats, and a whole detachable crew compartment. A hero in Hawaii and icon to Asian Americans, he was celebrated in parades after his first flight and now has streets, an Air Force station, an asteroid and a crater on the moon named in his honor.
In between her two degrees, she worked for RCA, helping on high-level projects for major clients (including NASA) and then went on to work for the National Institutes of Health as a biomedical engineer. “That’s why they’ve lasted.”. Let’s fact check President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address, shall we? McAuliffe said he’s pleased “Christa’s goals have been largely accomplished in that she has inspired generations of classroom teachers and students.” She would be proud, he noted, of the Challenger Learning Centers.
Scott and his sister are now in their 30s. When the shuttle seemed to lift off just fine, a wave of relief washed over the engineers ... until they saw the fireball.
There is one chilling indicator of the crew's fate. He had planned to become the first person to play a concert via live feed during the Challenger mission that never made it past the Earth’s atmosphere. Seventy-three seconds into the 28 January 1986 flight of the space shuttle Challenger the craft broke apart, killing the seven astronauts aboard.
His biography usually begins with his insistence, as a 9-year-old child living in a low-income community in segregated South Carolina, to check out a library book despite the refusal of a racist librarian. McAuliffe's death struck an especially poignant chord.