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Parts of the crashed NASA space shuttle found by divers
The explosion of the NASA space shuttle "Challenger" in 1986 was the first major disaster in space travel, which millions of people across the globe also followed live on television. The accident was a trauma not only for the relatives of the seven crew members. Divers found a large piece of wreckage of the space shuttle "Challenger" off the Florida coast.
The divers were off the coast in March for a TV documentary and were actually looking for the wreckage of an aircraft from the Second World War. However, what came before their cameras they later described as an "object from the recent past" and "appearing modern" stuck in the sandy bottom of the ocean.
The characteristic heat shield plates and the local proximity to the Cape Canaveral Space Centre on Florida's east coast prompted the film team to inform NASA. The object has now been identified by NASA experts (after several months of investigation) as the remnant of the "Challenger" space shuttle, which exploded in front of everyone shortly after launch in 1986. As a result, information about the discovery was also made public.
Challenger exploded shorty after take-off
Challenger became the third space shuttle orbiter (after the prototype Enterprise and the first fully operational space shuttle orbiter Columbia) to enter active service with NASA. The spacecraft was named after the British research vessel HMS Challenger, which sailed the world's oceans from 1872 to 1876. The Apollo 17 lunar module also bore this name. The accident 36 years ago is one of the great tragedies of international space travel. After several successful flights, the "Challenger" had crashed on 28 January 1986 only 73 seconds after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center. In this disaster, the space shuttle exploded shortly after take-off, killing its crew.
The cause of the accident was a seal ring that had become brittle due to the freezing temperatures that morning. This caused a jet flame to escape from the right solid fuel rocket, which eventually caused the main tank to explode.
The crew of seven died, including teacher Christa McAuliffe, who was flying as a payload specialist as part of the Teachers in Space programme.
Recovery of the discovered plates is under consideration
"This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to hold up the legacy of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy has changed us," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in the statement. Now NASA wants to look at how the debris can be recovered and "what additional actions it can take regarding the finds to properly honour the legacy of the fallen astronauts of the 'Challenger' and the families who loved them." It is the first discovery of "Challenger" parts in 25 years.
The US-History Channel will report on the discovery. The documentary series will be launched on the US HISTORY Channel at the end of this month.
Video-Link CNN