One of the largest parts of the crashed NASA Space Shuttle Challenger has been unearthed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean by a team of television documentarians who were searching for a downed World War II plane for the filming of Bermuda Triangle: In Cursed Waters. Writes about this publication Scientific American.
The fact that the find is part of the Challenger is evidenced by 20-centimeter thermal protection plates. Part of the shuttle was discovered in the waters off Florida's Space Coast, northwest of an area commonly known as the Bermuda Triangle.
“This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause, honor the legacy of the seven discoverers we lost, and reflect on how this tragedy has changed us,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Although it has been almost 37 years since seven brave and courageous explorers died aboard the Challenger, this tragedy will forever remain in the collective memory of our country. For millions of people around the world, including myself, January 28, 1986, is remembered as if it were yesterday.
The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed by an explosion in its external fuel tank 73 seconds into its flight after its 25th launch, due to an O-ring failure in one of the spacecraft's two solid rocket boosters. The crew of NASA STS-51L, including Commander Francis "Dick" Scobie, Pilot Mike Smith, Mission Specialists Ron McNair, Allison Onizuka, and Judy Resnick, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis, and Space Teacher Krista McAuliffe, died in the accident.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, a massive search and rescue effort was organized, the largest ever undertaken by the US Navy and US Coast Guard. The operation involved thousands of people, 16 surface ships, a nuclear research submarine and several robotic and manned submersibles that systematically inspected more than 1,666 square kilometers of the ocean floor at depths of up to 365 meters.
After seven months, 167 parts of the shuttle were removed with a total weight of 118 tons. The debris consisted of 47% of the Challenger Orbiter, 33% of the external tank, 50% of the two solid rocket boosters, and 40% to 95% of the mission's three main payloads – an inertial upper stage, a tracking and data relay satellite, and an astronomical observation instrument. behind Halley's comet.
