39 Years Ago Today, January 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger Exploded

Thirty-nine years ago today, on a strangely cold but sunny day in Florida, Space Shuttle Challenger took off.  It was the first flight to carry a civilian Teacher, Christa McAauliffe and was being broadcast on TV nationally.  Minutes into its flight, it exploded.

It was the 25th Space Shuttle mission. 

At 45 seconds into the flight (One-minute, thirty-six seconds (1:36) in the video above) a MASSIVE explosion happened:

The catastrophe was seen by almost every American; especially school children who were watching on TV in class as the first School Teacher in history was going into space. Teachers were so excited to show the class this amazing feat of human scientific achievement.

It was 28 degrees on the launch pad that morning. There were icicles on everything. It was too cold and the cold and ice shrank the O-Rings that joined sections of the Solid Rocket Boosters together.  When the cold shrank the O-rings, it allowed the solid fuel to seep out and ignite.   

Fire from that leak impinged on the large, exterior, brown, main fuel tank, upon which the shuttle itself was attached.   The fire from the leaking O-rings caused the fuel inside the main tank to boil.  The tank couldn't take the massive pressure from the boiling fuel and ripped open, releasing all the fuel which instantly detonated.

Officially, it is referred to as a "BLEVE"   - Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion.  It is one of the most powerful, and horrifying,  types of explosions that can take place when any flammable inside a tank is wrongly superheated.

The Space Shuttle itself was blown to pieces by the force of the blast.  All seven Astronauts aboard, were killed.

With the main fuel tank now destroyed, the two attached Solid Rocket Boosters continued flying and had to be self-destructed because they were no longer under any guided flight control.

Then President, Ronald Reagan, addressed the nation several hours later:

When President Reagan described the death of the astronauts as them having "slipped the surly bonds of earth, to touch the face of God" it put the disaster in perspective for the entire country. 

Space exploration is still very dangerous work.  We are still "pioneers."