"Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes" premieres on Jan. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard. And Challenger wasn't the only shuttle ever lost during flight the orbiter Columbia broke apart upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere on Feb. The space shuttle program was grounded for nearly three years in the wake of the disaster, finally lifting off again with the orbiter Discovery's return-to-flight STS-26 mission on Sept. This gas damaged the shuttle's huge external fuel tank, as well as the gear that attached the booster to the tank.Ĭold weather played a role in the O-ring's failure, investigators found. 28, 1986, killing commander Dick Scobee pilot Mike Smith mission specialists Judy Resnik, Ellison Onizuka and Ron McNair and payload specialist Greg Jarvis, in addition to McAuliffe (who was a payload specialist as well).Īn investigation later determined that a rubber seal called an O-ring in the shuttle's right-hand solid rocket booster failed during liftoff, allowing hot, high-pressure gas to escape. Bush and Ohio Senator (and former Mercury mission astronaut) John Glenn talking to members of the Challenger launch team just hours after the tragedy.Ĭhallenger exploded 73 seconds after blasting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Jan.
For example, the documentary features, among other things, NASA interviews with McAuliffe, candid video of the teacher touring Challenger with her husband and two children, and behind-the-scenes footage of Vice President George H.W. "Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes" proceeds in this fashion, relying on contemporary audio and rarely seen footage rather than voice-over narration to tell the story of the doomed shuttle mission. "This is Christa McAuliffe, live from the Challenger, and I'm going to be taking you through a field trip." "Good morning," McAuliffe says in the video, clearing her throat.
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