Chilling last words of Challenger Crew before space shuttle tragically exploded 73 seconds into flight
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: -/NASA/AFP via Getty Images
The Challenger rocket mission promised so much, but its story haunts many to this day.
Back in 1986, NASA deployed Challenger on its 10th mission, with the goal of launching the second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-B).
But less than two minutes into the flight, the Challenger exploded, shocking the NASA officials who had a front row seat of the tragedy.
Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, Gregory B. Jarvis and teacher S. Christa McAuliffe were the ones onboard the mission.
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All seven of them were tragically killed as the spaceship disintegrated at 46,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.
The story of the Challenger is often regarded as one of the worst NASA accidents of all time - but what exactly caused it?
Well, the rocket is said to have exploded because of a mechanical fault, specifically the failure of two rubber O-rings to seal a joint between the two lower segments of the right-hand solid rocket booster.
A path for a hot exhaust was able to escape from inside the booster during the shuttle's ascent due to severely cold temperatures.
This subsequently led to flames emerging from the hole which spread to a tank carrying liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen which then exploded.
Of course, NASA is the pioneer in space technology and has been so for a very long time at this point.
However, many criticised the space agency for trying hard too quick, especially with the little money it had back then in the 80s.
While there has been much speculation over the years, it doesn't provide much comfort to the families of those who lost their lives.
The final panic-stricken words from those inside of the shuttle was captured by the operational recorder which NASA later shared.
Just minutes before the Challenger proceeded on its mission to space, the crew could be heard laughing and completing their routine checks.
One person could be heard saying: “Go you mother.”
As they got up into the air, another person could be heard commenting: "Feel that mother go.”
Just seconds after that though was when tragedy struck.
Based off the video, the crew only seemed to realize it was all over at the last second, as one person could be heard saying 'uh oh'.
The shuttle containing the crew remained intact and careened into the ocean.
While it is not known for sure, experts believe that due to the rapid pressure change and the crew not wearing pressure suits, it’s likely that they died before the impact of hitting the water due to lack of oxygen.