'Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes' premieres on Jan. '' / Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes ( / Tom Jennings) 2015,, HDTV 1080i National Geographic, (HD Video. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard. Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes follows the story of the Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew, specifically Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian to be launched into space. And Challenger wasn't the only shuttle ever lost during flight the orbiter Columbia broke apart upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere on Feb. At Kennedy Space Center, the names of 24 astronauts are carved into the Space Mirror Memorial, which commemorates those who lost their. 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. The Challenger Astronauts Deserve a Memorialin Space.

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. New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe, who beat out thousands of other people to become America's first civilian astronaut, practices a lesson she planned to beam to kids from orbit in this screenshot from the National Geographic Channel's upcoming documentary 'Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes.” (Image credit: The National Geographic Channel)Ĭhallenger exploded 73 seconds after blasting off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.

Challenger the lost tapes