Nasa's Challenger Explosion
... the Moon. In the past, NASA has launched many significant scientific probes, namely the Voyager and the Pioneer, that have explored the Moon, the planets, and other areas of our solar system. Additionally, the Hubble Space Telescope and other space science spacecraft have enabled NASA scientists to make a number of noteworthy astronomical discoveries about the Universe in which we live. Still active today, NASA continues to conduct many types of aeronautics research on aerodynamics, wind shear, flight-testing and computer simulations. The technological advances made by NASA have resulted in numerous spin-offs in wide-ranging scientific, technological and commercial fields. The accomplishments made by NASA have demonstrated to human beings that Earth is simply just a "tiny blue marble" nestled among the cosmos. The Challenger Crew The Challenger shuttle crew of seven astronauts--including the specialties of pilot, aerospace engineers, and scientists-- died tragically in the explosion of their spacecraft during the launch of STS-51-L, commonly known as The Challenger, from the Kennedy Space Center about 11:40 a.m., EST, on January 28, 1986. The explosion occurred 73 seconds into the flight as a result of a leak in one of two Solid Rocket Boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank. The crewmembers of the Challenger represented a the diversification of the American population in terms of race, gender, geography, background, and religion. The explosion became one of the most significant events of the 1980s, as billions around the world witnessed the accident on television and could easily be empathetic with any one of the several crewmembers killed. The commander of the spacecraft was Francis R. (Dick) Sc...