Could the shuttle go to the moon?
“The space shuttle is designed to travel in low-Earth orbit (within a few hundred miles of the Earth’s surface). It does not carry enough propellant to leave Earth’s orbit and travel to the moon,” the space agency stated. “We all pointed out that the shuttle could never actually get to the moon.
Could the Challenger disaster have been prevented?
That’s all it would have taken to prevent the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. But no one made it on that bright, cold day years ago. The result was catastrophic. Many months of investigation later, though, it became clear that one phone call could have prevented the accident.
Why did the O ring fail?
The cause of the disaster was traced to an O-ring, a circular gasket that sealed the right rocket booster. This had failed due to the low temperature (31°F / -0.5°C) at launch time – a risk that several engineers noted, but that NASA management dismissed. Via Wikipedia and NASA.
How did the Challenger disaster changed NASA?
In the wake of what happened with Challenger, NASA made technical changes to the shuttle and also worked to change the safety and accountability culture of its workforce. The shuttle program resumed flights in 1988. Challenger’s explosion changed the space shuttle program in several ways.
Did the space shuttle fly again after Challenger?
Challenger Accident. Seventy-three seconds after its 11:37 a.m. liftoff on September 29, 1988, those watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five-man crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. After almost three years without a launch of the Space Shuttle,3 the United States had returned to flight.
How did NASA fix the O ring problem?
During the Challenger liftoff, one of the main O-rings between sections of the rocket failed, allowing hot gas to escape and cause an explosion in which the crew perished. After the disaster, the joints were redesigned with an extra piece of metal inside to hold the sections together.
What went wrong with the Challenger?
The shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after it launched, killing everyone onboard. Investigators found that the faulty design of O-rings, a type of gasket, caused a leak in one of the two rocket boosters that then ignited the shuttles fuel tank.
What killed the space shuttle Challenger astronauts?
On Jan. 28, 1986, seven astronauts were killed when the Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after launch. After launch, a booster engine broke apart, according to NASA. Just 73 seconds into the flight, the space shuttle exploded in midair, breaking apart.
Were any bodies recovered from the Columbia disaster?
The remains of all seven astronauts who were killed in the space shuttle Columbia tragedy have been recovered, US officials said last night.
Did the Challenger crew die instantly Reddit?
And after almost three minutes of unimaginable, silent terror, they hit the ocean at over 200 MPH, the crew cabin instantly crumpling. Mullane describes, in horror, that in the aftermath of the tragedy NASA began to require dental records for all astronauts because the Challenger crew were unidentifiable.
How long do people stay in space?
A: The ISS missions, called expeditions, usually last about six months. There are three to six crewmembers on board at all times. Professional astronaut crews come from the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. NASA astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria has flown the longest U.S. space station mission to date, at 215 days.