Nat Geo_Challenger, The Untold Story
Transcript
00:00:00In the 1980s, the Space Shuttle is the new exciting chapter in space travel.
00:00:21Then Challenger explodes.
00:00:24This is the story of that flight.
00:00:27The human story behind a technological disaster.
00:00:32Krista McAuliffe, a teacher, will be the first ordinary citizen in space.
00:00:38Roger Beaujolais, an engineer, knows Challenger has a problem and tries to stop the launch.
00:00:43You listen to me now.
00:00:46And Richard Feynman, an eccentric genius, is part of the commission that investigates
00:00:51the Challenger disaster.
00:00:56Challenger puts the entire space program itself on trial and casts a long shadow over one
00:01:01of man's greatest dreams, the conquest of space.
00:01:21Kennedy Space Center.
00:01:23Space Shuttle Challenger prepares to launch into a cold winter sky.
00:01:32We have main engine start, four, three, two, one, and liftoff, liftoff of the twenty-fifth
00:01:42stage of the mission, and it has cleared the tower.
00:01:49Engines throttling up, three engines now at 104 percent.
00:01:50Challenger, go with throttle up.
00:01:51Challenger, go with throttle up.
00:01:52I'm at a 15 seconds velocity, 4,900 feet per second altitude, 1,000 miles downrange,
00:01:53distance 7,000 miles.
00:01:54Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation.
00:01:55Obviously a major malfunction.
00:01:56President Reagan cancels his State of the Union address to speak to a shocked world.
00:02:19The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger honored us for the manner in which they lived their
00:02:23lives.
00:02:25We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them this morning as they prepared
00:02:30for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face
00:02:37of God.
00:02:44The loss of Challenger leaves the country in mourning.
00:02:48Seven astronauts are dead, among them a woman who has deeply touched the heart of the nation,
00:02:54Krista McAuliffe, a high school teacher and winner of NASA's Teacher in Space contest.
00:03:01This morning, she was to become the first ordinary citizen to travel into space.
00:03:11Her dream now lies shattered on the ocean floor.
00:03:20The shuttle is the most complex machine ever built.
00:03:24It has over two million separate components.
00:03:27It is now essential to find out exactly which of its thousands of systems catastrophically
00:03:31failed.
00:03:38Within days, President Reagan sets up an inquiry named the Rogers Commission after its chairman,
00:03:43William Rogers.
00:03:44I would like to call the commission to order, please.
00:03:49Nine days after the disaster, they begin to call key witnesses.
00:03:52My name is Roger Beaujolais and I'm in the structures section.
00:03:58And I've been involved basically since coming to Thiokol some five and a half years ago.
00:04:04The presidential commission is made up of industry experts, scientists and politicians,
00:04:09with one exception, Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winning physicist.
00:04:16Feynman will play a key role in the investigation.
00:04:20The commission will explain the reason behind the Challenger explosion and the loss of seven
00:04:25astronauts.
00:04:32The story of the Challenger mission starts almost two years before launch in the town
00:04:36of Concord, New Hampshire.
00:04:44Krista McAuliffe teaches at Concord High School.
00:04:49She's popular.
00:04:50Her enthusiasm fires up her students.
00:04:54Like all the best teachers, Krista brings her subject to life.
00:05:00Krista's expertise is social history and she's especially interested in the diaries of ordinary
00:05:05women in the 1800s who moved west with their families across America.
00:05:09She works these stories into her course called The American Woman.
00:05:15Now history isn't just about politicians or generals or explorers, it's also about
00:05:21the wives who kept their families together while the men were off exploring.
00:05:26Everyone makes history and we are going to be reading about and listening to the people
00:05:32who don't usually get written about.
00:05:35Krista is a child of the space race and has grown up with a new pioneering dream.
00:05:44When she was just 13, she witnessed John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.
00:05:52She's been fascinated with space ever since.
00:06:04On April 13th, 1984, shuttle mission STS-41C is returning to Earth.
00:06:12That morning, Krista's family notices she's more interested in the newscast than breakfast.
00:06:19For Krista's generation, space is still a dream.
00:06:22So far, no civilians have gone into space.
00:06:25Perhaps for her young children, Scott and Caroline, space travel will eventually be
00:06:30a reality.
00:06:32NASA's stated aim is that the space shuttle will make space travel routine.
00:06:37So far, it has only been for an elite corps of professional astronauts.
00:06:42What Krista doesn't know is that NASA is planning a competition to send America's
00:06:47first ordinary citizen into space.
00:06:55The announcement comes four months later, when Krista and her husband, Steve, stop for
00:06:59some burgers on their way home.
00:07:01Here we go.
00:07:02Don't say I never buy you dinner.
00:07:03But why do they only ever serve finger foods at these funerals?
00:07:13Well, I won't drag you along next time.
00:07:14You can't turn up without your wife.
00:07:15I know you don't like these things.
00:07:16Well, you do the same for me.
00:07:17A radio announcement catches her attention.
00:07:18Today, I'm directing NASA to begin a search in all of our elementary and secondary schools,
00:07:19and to choose as the first citizen passenger in the history of our space program.
00:07:20I was thinking we could get away this weekend, go to the coast.
00:07:45Yeah.
00:07:46Yeah, sure.
00:07:47Yeah. Yeah, sure.
00:07:50That was pretty interesting when you said the teacher in space.
00:07:54It's too bad I don't know any teachers.
00:07:59You should try out.
00:08:02Yeah. I should try out.
00:08:06Christa will delay sending in her application to the last minute,
00:08:10but hearing the president that night has already sealed her fate.
00:08:18The space shuttle program is in full swing.
00:08:22One year from now, NASA plans to launch Challenger.
00:08:28At the engineering plant of Morton Thiokol, a NASA contractor in Utah,
00:08:33Roger Beaujolais and his colleagues watch as Discovery Mission STS-51C comes safely back to Earth.
00:08:41The engineers that work on the shuttle know that it is not a perfect machine.
00:08:47Like any new technology, it has problems, from cracks in turbine blades to faulty heat exchangers.
00:08:59The problems are not sufficiently serious to stop the shuttle from flying.
00:09:03Still, every safe landing is a relief.
00:09:10Morton Thiokol manufactures the solid rocket boosters for NASA.
00:09:19The rocket boosters are strapped to each side of the shuttle's main liquid fuel tank
00:09:24and provide the explosive force to lift the spacecraft off the ground.
00:09:29These huge rockets are made up of four motor segments fitted with solid fuel,
00:09:34designed to be reused after each launch.
00:09:38The joints between each segment have to withstand the vast forces produced during blast-off.
00:09:45Each segment is sealed against the next segment with two rubber seals, called O-rings.
00:09:52For the rocket boosters to work, the joints have to function perfectly.
00:09:57Part of Roger Beaujolais' job is to make sure they do.
00:10:02Three days after mission STS-51C lands,
00:10:06Beaujolais starts his inspection of the joints on the returned rocket booster segments.
00:10:12Even 20 years later, the surprise at what he found that day is still vivid in his mind.
00:10:19I went around and on the first booster I found on one of the joints hot gas,
00:10:27massive amount of hot gas from propulsion had actually compromised the primary O-ring.
00:10:33So I thought, my God, we came within about 8 or 10 seconds of failure.
00:10:47When the rocket booster sections are slotted together, the joint is sealed by two O-rings.
00:10:57The O-rings are designed to form a seal against the superheated rocket exhaust gases
00:11:02that are produced at incredible pressure during launch.
00:11:07The first O-ring should do the job.
00:11:11The second O-ring is a safety backup.
00:11:15Beaujolais' photos of Flight 51C's joints reveal hard evidence there is a major design flaw.
00:11:23He discovers that hot gas has blasted past the first ring and burned the second backup O-ring.
00:11:33I instantly in my mind thought,
00:11:37this has to be caused by the cold weather that preceded this launch.
00:11:43Beaujolais immediately hones in on the one thing that made Flight 51C different, the temperature.
00:11:49Post-flight analysis showed the O-rings were 53 degrees Fahrenheit, unusually cold for a launch.
00:11:56The O-rings are supposed to be flexible.
00:11:58On launch, they squeeze and stretch to seal the gap.
00:12:02But on Flight 51C, the dual O-ring system malfunctioned.
00:12:06The primary seal did not work and hot gas escaped.
00:12:12Luckily, the second O-ring caught the leak.
00:12:15If it hadn't, the result might have been far more dangerous.
00:12:20The next day, Beaujolais reports his findings to NASA.
00:12:23Together, NASA and Morton Thiokol conclude that the condition is not desirable, but acceptable.
00:12:33Shuttle launches continue.
00:12:36But Beaujolais and his colleagues run further tests.
00:12:42The results are shocking.
00:12:44To their surprise, they discover that the O-rings could also be ineffective, even at room temperature.
00:12:55Beaujolais takes his findings to his boss.
00:12:58When we went to our manager, who was my boss, and told him about this,
00:13:03he said this material was too sensitive to release to anybody, so he kept it secret.
00:13:07Do you have any idea what that does to somebody who's trying to put flight safety first and foremost on a program,
00:13:16and to have a manager do that to you?
00:13:20Throughout 1985, NASA has a very ambitious launch schedule.
00:13:25Flight 51C is the first of nine planned launches, and the pressure is on to keep the shuttle flying.
00:13:31Any delays would ultimately cost money, and jobs were at stake.
00:13:36I want to hear, because I believe they wanted to ensure for the company
00:13:43they would get the follow-on contract that was in negotiations with NASA at that point in time.
00:13:48That contract was worth over a billion dollars.
00:13:52As the weeks pass, Beaujolais' frustration at the lack of action continues to eat away at him.
00:13:59Bob, did you read my memo?
00:14:03The old rings, Bob.
00:14:06I really feel there's some urgency here.
00:14:11But the erosion was pretty bad after the last light.
00:14:17Right, Bob. Right.
00:14:20I'll leave it with you.
00:14:24While Beaujolais struggles to be heard, NASA has already announced the crew for the Challenger flight,
00:14:29scheduled to launch in January 1986.
00:14:34The Challenger commander is shuttle veteran Dick Scobie.
00:14:39Scobie is made of the right stuff.
00:14:42He rose up the ranks in the Air Force to become a test pilot, before joining NASA in 1978.
00:14:49He is a career astronaut, and first flew the shuttle in 1984.
00:14:54The Challenger mission will be his first time as commander.
00:14:58His widow, June, remembers his excitement.
00:15:01Dick came home with such joy to say they've announced the crew for flight 51L,
00:15:09and I'm named the commander.
00:15:13It was a big celebration.
00:15:15I think we opened a bottle of champagne that night and celebrated.
00:15:21Only professional astronauts like Scobie have flown on board the shuttle.
00:15:26By mid-1985, NASA is confident enough in the shuttle's safety to allow non-specialists into space.
00:15:33Senator Jake Garn, chair of the committee that funds NASA,
00:15:36and Sultan Salman, a Saudi prince, are scheduled to fly in April and June this year.
00:15:42NASA's message is clear. The shuttle is safe.
00:15:46In the future, spaceflight will be for everyone.
00:15:50I think everyone was eager for spaceflight to be more accessible for people,
00:15:59and they were probably too eager to make that happen.
00:16:05Dick was concerned.
00:16:08I can remember him personally saying that, you know,
00:16:11we're not ready to just fly anyone into space.
00:16:15I mean, we still need trained astronauts to be prepared for emergencies.
00:16:24The senator and Saudi prince's flights are successful, but create little public interest.
00:16:29NASA wants to regenerate enthusiasm in the space program,
00:16:33and putting an ordinary citizen into the shuttle is their best hope.
00:16:37Their teacher in space competition is gaining national interest.
00:16:45It is two months since Christa McAuliffe sent off her application,
00:16:48and tomorrow she has her first interview with NASA.
00:16:52If she gets it right, it's the first phase of a long and grueling selection process.
00:16:57If she gets it wrong, she loses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly into space.
00:17:04With help from her husband Steve, she rehearses by taping her presentation.
00:17:09It's easy to chronicle military, political, and economic history, but social history is harder.
00:17:16A lot of Americans feel that the space program doesn't belong to them,
00:17:21and I would like to make them feel that it does.
00:17:24I want to bring back my perceptions of what an ordinary person sees from the shuttle.
00:17:29Okay, cut there.
00:17:34These clothes are not right.
00:17:36Well, I thought that was good.
00:17:40What do you think of this? Sweetie?
00:17:43Yeah, I like that. I like what you had on before.
00:17:45Listen, I don't know. What about this? You don't like this?
00:17:49How about this?
00:17:51That's good.
00:17:52It's not right. We have to do it again.
00:17:53I thought it was good.
00:17:56Hey.
00:17:58Hey. Hey, there's a Zoom.
00:18:00Steve, can you bring up the blue dress?
00:18:02Huh?
00:18:03The blue dress.
00:18:04Yeah.
00:18:09Krista gets it exactly right.
00:18:11She makes it through to the next round.
00:18:15Inspired by the pioneering women of American history,
00:18:18she told the judges that she too plans to keep a journal of her journey in space.
00:18:24Out of 11,500 applicants, Krista is now only one of 114.
00:18:30She is on her way to space.
00:18:39The shuttle is the most complex machine ever built,
00:18:42but even NASA admits its design was compromised.
00:18:46NASA needed a successor to the Apollo program,
00:18:49a machine that was more flexible and cheaper.
00:18:53The Apollo program cost $25 billion,
00:18:56the equivalent of $135 billion today,
00:19:01about $11 billion per launch.
00:19:05Each rocket was custom built for one launch only,
00:19:08then discarded in pieces as its cargo climbed into orbit.
00:19:14NASA needed to reduce costs due to budget cuts in the 1970s.
00:19:18Their answer was the Space Shuttle,
00:19:20a reusable, small, light vehicle that could land like a plane.
00:19:24Then, to secure additional funding,
00:19:27NASA adapted the design for the Air Force
00:19:29and built a machine capable of carrying satellites.
00:19:33This meant a larger payload bay, larger wings, and a heavier craft.
00:19:40When it first launched in 1981, the shuttle was a technological marvel,
00:19:45but the final design was no longer the vehicle NASA originally wanted,
00:19:49nor was it as safe as they had originally planned.
00:20:05The increased size requires the shuttle to be positioned
00:20:08alongside the solid rocket boosters, instead of above.
00:20:12Now, if the rockets exploded,
00:20:14the shuttle itself risked being caught in the fireball.
00:20:18NASA promised a machine that would make space flight routine.
00:20:22By 1985, they are struggling just to keep the machine in service.
00:20:30The public watches in awe, unaware of the potential for disaster.
00:20:36In the aftermath of the Challenger explosion,
00:20:39a presidential commission is set up to find out exactly what went wrong.
00:20:44Its chairman is William Rogers, Secretary of State under Richard Nixon.
00:20:49The Rogers Commission has a dazzling array of members,
00:20:52scientists, politicians, astronauts, and military officers.
00:20:57The commission also picks one of the most brilliant minds in America,
00:21:01someone with no connections to the space industry,
00:21:03who can bring a different perspective, Richard Feynman.
00:21:08Richard Feynman was involved in the development of the atom bomb
00:21:11and won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
00:21:15He is now the only scientist within an American government
00:21:19who is not just a scientist, but a volunteer.
00:21:22Feynman is a total scientist,
00:21:24and he has been involved in the development of the atomic bomb
00:21:29since he won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
00:21:32At a given moment, he was quite aware of the potential
00:21:35He's known as a free thinker, an intellectual maverick, a genius with a sharp sense of humor
00:21:42and a love of bongo drums.
00:21:48He's also undergoing treatment for cancer.
00:21:53Hello?
00:21:56Now, I've told you, Bill, I've spent a lifetime avoiding Washington, so right now my answer
00:22:10would have to be no thanks.
00:22:13I'll consider what you said, but I really do think you should approach somebody else.
00:22:18Bye-bye.
00:22:19Here you go.
00:22:20Who was that?
00:22:21Do you remember an old student of mine, Bill Graham?
00:22:22No.
00:22:23Well, apparently he's now the deputy administrator for NASA.
00:22:24What did he want?
00:22:25He wants me to serve on this presidential commission that's investigating the Challenger accident.
00:22:26What did you say?
00:22:27I said no.
00:22:28I've spent a lifetime avoiding Washington, so right now my answer would have to be no
00:22:29thanks.
00:22:30I'll consider what you said, but I really do think you should approach somebody else.
00:22:31I'll consider what you said.
00:22:32I'll consider what you said.
00:22:33I'll consider what you said.
00:22:34No, I haven't.
00:22:35I'm sorry, I've been very busy.
00:22:36I'm sorry, I've been very busy.
00:22:37I've been very busy.
00:22:38I've been very busy.
00:22:39I've been very busy.
00:22:40I mean once been a server on this presidential commission that's investigating the Challenger accident. What did you say?
00:22:45I said no, I've spent a lifetime avoiding Washington. I'm too old to get mixed up with the political shenanigans that go on in that place
00:22:56I think you should do it. Oh
00:22:58There's plenty of others just disqualified
00:23:01There may not be anything but if there is you'll find it
00:23:06Isn't anyone else who can do that like you can
00:23:10I see you're appealing to my vanity. It usually works
00:23:27Any idea what caused the accident professor there are all sorts of ideas flying around I wouldn't like to speculate
00:23:33What do you think you can bring to this inquiry?
00:23:35Well in science, sometimes you get a better understanding of a problem by looking at it from a different angle
00:23:40Maybe that's what I bring a different angle
00:23:42And what do you say to those people who are convinced that this Commission will be a cover-up?
00:23:46Listen, I was talking to a bunch of rocket engineers the other day and they were discussing a certain problem
00:23:51Now you described this problem as being a
00:23:54pressure induced vorticity
00:23:57oscillation I
00:23:59Said do you mean a whistle? I said, yeah a whistle
00:24:03It's not that it's not the cover-up. We have to fear. It's the truth obscured by arcane language
00:24:08Maybe that's where I bring an edge. I'm not bamboozled by the language of science
00:24:29I
00:24:34Now would like to call this first meeting of the presidential commission on the space shuttle Challenger accident to order I
00:24:44Want to start with just a couple of
00:24:46Preliminary remarks as you know, NASA presents the Commission with various possible reasons for the shuttle failure
00:24:54Early on in the hearing the Commission's attention turns to the solid rocket boosters
00:24:59From the start. It's plain definement that the Commission is getting bogged down in technical jargon
00:25:05As a physicist he knows there's always a simple answer
00:25:12Roger Beaujolais is one of the engineers called to the hearings to explain how the solid rocket boosters operate
00:25:19According to Beaujolais Morton fire calls lawyers have told him to answer questions, but to not offer any extra information
00:25:25he
00:25:27Decides not to be silenced
00:25:30My name is Roger Beaujolais, and I'm in the structures section
00:25:36And I've been involved with these seals and the rings basically since coming to thiocole some five and a half years ago
00:25:43NASA and Morton thiocole already suspect that the solid rocket boosters are somehow to blame
00:25:53Beaujolais tells the Commission he knew a year ago that the o-rings and the solid rocket boosters can fail under some circumstances
00:26:00And that if the primary and backup o-rings both fail the whole launch system could explode
00:26:06It's a revelation to the Commission, but in hindsight it is no surprise
00:26:11The o-ring joints are there because the rocket boosters are built in segments
00:26:16During the bidding process some companies submitted designs for a single tube rocket booster
00:26:21Which could have been delivered by sea in one piece?
00:26:25The Commission's response was that the rocket boosters were too large and too small to fit in a single tube rocket booster
00:26:32Which could have been delivered by sea in one piece
00:26:37But Morton thiocole who won the contract is in Utah a landlocked state
00:26:43They have to transport the solid rocket booster segments to Florida by rail where they are assembled for each launch
00:26:55Making the rocket booster in segments creates its weakest link the joints have to be gas tight
00:27:02If any of the seals leak superheated rocket exhaust will escape potentially causing a catastrophic explosion
00:27:15This problem has escalated so badly in the eyes of everyone
00:27:19especially our customer NASA
00:27:21That if we do not secure a timely solution, we stand in danger of having our competitors solve our problem
00:27:32Throughout the spring of 1985
00:27:34Beaujolais struggles to get Morton thiocole management to take his o-ring seal concerns seriously
00:27:42It was like I was talking to a solid piece of granite
00:27:47No response no reaction no emotion no anything
00:27:55We all knew that the joint was defective
00:27:57And we had no choice but to fly because that's what the managers
00:28:01Insisted on and so it was our job to keep it flying as safe as possible, but we didn't take that lightly
00:28:09If Beaujolais is right it will only be a matter of time before something will fail
00:28:28Each shuttle is engineered with a precision that pushes the limits of the possible
00:28:35More than 700 components on the shuttle are designated criticality one
00:28:40Which means if one of these components fails the shuttle and crew could possibly be destroyed
00:28:46The engineers know that it is still an experimental machine
00:28:50Their job is to find and deal with the problems and keep the shuttle flying
00:28:57At the time of the challenger disaster judd lovingood was nasa's deputy manager of shuttle projects
00:29:03The department is responsible for the maintenance and maintenance of the shuttle
00:29:07Judd is the chief engineer of the shuttle and is responsible for the maintenance and maintenance of the shuttle
00:29:13Projects the department in charge of rocket propulsion the problems on the main engines we had cracks in heat exchanger
00:29:20Wells that we discovered we had turbine blades that were cracking. We had problems with bearings that we were taking risk and
00:29:28and continuing to fly
00:29:32If you got a multi-billion dollar program like we had that cost a lot of money to stand down
00:29:37if you think that you can
00:29:39Solve problems like we thought we could do on the srb seal
00:29:43And the thing to do is is to solve that problem if you think the risk is low enough to take that risk
00:29:50That's a tough that's a tough decision to make if we thought we were going to kill seven astronauts. We would stop the program
00:29:57But we didn't think that was going to happen
00:30:02The engineers and astronauts all know that every shuttle flight is a carefully calculated risk
00:30:10The public remains oblivious to any danger
00:30:14Even though beaujolais and his colleagues have discovered the o-ring problem
00:30:18NASA's teacher and space program suggests that space is safe enough for anyone from cape kennedy next january
00:30:25You will be representing that president reagan even jokes with the candidates. You'll be the emissary
00:30:32To the next generation of american heroes for the lucky one who does go up in the shuttle. I have only one assignment
00:30:38If you don't take notes, there'll be a quiz after you
00:30:43114 teachers are in washington for tests and interviews
00:30:49Among them is krista mccullough. Another candidate is dick meffia
00:30:55Krista and I met very quickly because we were new englanders. So we became buddies real fast
00:31:01Some of these teachers had climbed the highest mountains some of them had gone
00:31:06On atlantic voyages with three colleagues some of the national presidential award winners
00:31:10And we just looked at each other and said what are we doing here?
00:31:14So we decided I think at that point krista and I that this was a gift
00:31:18We didn't earn it and
00:31:21We weren't going to go any further. So let's just enjoy the ride
00:31:24After six exciting days in washington dc krista returns home convinced her big adventure is over
00:31:30But just two days later. She gets a late night call from nasa
00:31:35She's made it to the final 10
00:31:38So has her fellow new englander dick meffia?
00:31:41It made us think a lot about what nasa was really looking for and I think what they were looking for was a common touch
00:31:48Somebody who could relate to the general public
00:31:52Somebody who could relate to the general population somebody whom the common person in the street could say hey, she's just like me
00:32:00She was so wonderfully human
00:32:03The consummate educator in that sense always giving and she was also a lot of fun
00:32:11She laughed all the time and she would bring laughter to a group that wasn't ready to laugh
00:32:17Yeah
00:32:19The 10 finalists are put through a series of grueling psychological and physical tests
00:32:26Oxygen uptake reaction times tolerance of confined spaces. Everything is measured charted and assessed
00:32:36It's an exciting time for the finalists
00:32:39The finalists are put through a series of grueling psychological and physical tests
00:32:44Oxygen uptake reaction times tolerance of confined spaces. Everything is measured charted and assessed
00:32:50It's an exciting time for the finalists
00:32:53It's an exciting time for the finalists
00:32:56The finalists are put through a series of grueling psychological and physical tests
00:33:01Oxygen uptake reaction times tolerance of confined spaces
00:33:04Dick was involved in putting a smile on all of this space flight opportunities
00:33:12so
00:33:13when I saw dick's concern
00:33:16I asked him if it wouldn't make him feel better to talk to the
00:33:22teachers, um the finalists the 10 finalists and
00:33:28He he had already been thinking that that would be the important thing to do
00:33:35The real dangers of space flight hit home when commander scobie gives a talk to the final 10 candidates
00:33:43He came in wearing his workaday
00:33:46flight outfit
00:33:48And he he regaled us with with wonderful stories
00:33:51About what life was like
00:33:54In microgravity and then there was a pause and he said but remember that when you're strapped into the crew cabin
00:34:01You're sitting on a on a ton
00:34:03of fireworks
00:34:05And the conversation got very silent to that point and he didn't have to go any further. We knew
00:34:10what he was talking about because it was
00:34:13It was that fact that each of us had shared
00:34:16Along the way with the people we loved most and it was a thing that frightened them the most
00:34:24Scobie tells them the stark truth that space travel is dangerous
00:34:33During the presidential commission richard feynman discovers that the managers at nasa claim the odds of a shuttle failure are one in one hundred thousand
00:34:43Engineers like roger beaujolais put the risk at more like one in a hundred
00:34:49The figures are guesses the engineers are working with new untested technology each launch is a risk
00:34:55And
00:34:59The commission finds that human judgment was just as critical as any technical failure
00:35:07They discovered the night before the launch there was a desperate struggle to stop challenger from taking off
00:35:14Now
00:35:24Despite the o-ring damage on flight 51c
00:35:27NASA continues its launches
00:35:30As the summer progresses roger beaujolais is still trying to have his concerns taken seriously
00:35:36Then he discovers the primary o-ring has failed on another shuttle flight
00:35:40this time mission sts-51b
00:35:43The co problem can now no longer be ignored
00:35:47Beaujolais requests a task force to investigate how to fix the problem
00:35:51His memos become increasingly desperate and aggressive in tone
00:35:55subject srm erosion
00:35:58possible failure criticality
00:36:02This letter is written to ensure that management is fully aware
00:36:07Of the seriousness of the current o-ring erosion problem
00:36:11It is my honest and very real fear
00:36:15that if we do not
00:36:16Designate a team to solve the problem
00:36:19With the field joint having the highest priority
00:36:23That we stand in jeopardy of losing a flight
00:36:25So
00:36:40We were writing these memos to try and start a little flame underneath it
00:36:47To be able to get something done
00:36:49Because we were concerned we were extremely concerned
00:36:53I think that's what those memos reflect
00:36:56that reflect frustration
00:36:58and concern
00:37:01Beaujolais tactics are beginning to alienate the management at morton thiokol
00:37:06Even close colleagues think his approach may be hurting his case
00:37:10A super engineer good man
00:37:16But he you know, you need to
00:37:19Soften yourself a little bit
00:37:21To work with people because you always have people yet, you know are going to see it your way
00:37:26and you just got to be
00:37:28patient with them
00:37:30and a little bit forgiving
00:37:33And try and bring them around slowly. I have been described as a giant pain in the ass
00:37:39Okay
00:37:39But the same people who described me that way
00:37:42Were the same people who called me when they had a problem after they got to know
00:37:45Who I was and what I could do in the experience I had
00:37:48So
00:37:50On july 19th 1985 Beaujolais gets some good news
00:37:57I uh thought you'd be pleased to hear we're putting together a task force
00:38:02I've been arguing that for months
00:38:05It's official right task force official leave it with me
00:38:10And
00:38:13And
00:38:15Finally he believes he can do something about the o-rings
00:38:20And we were thrilled and working our tails off
00:38:23Trying because we finally got a chance to do what we've been trying to get done now for
00:38:28Well five and a half years
00:38:29For the 10 finalists all the testing training and training was over
00:38:34On the same day that Beaujolais gets his task force. Krista McAuliffe is in Washington, D.C
00:38:39To publicly receive her own good news
00:38:42By unanimous vote
00:38:44She is the teacher in space
00:38:51It's it's not often that a teacher is at a loss for words, I know my students wouldn't think so
00:38:57I've made nine wonderful friends over the last two weeks
00:39:00When that shuttle goes they might be one body
00:39:03But
00:39:06But there's going to be 10 souls that i'm taking with me
00:39:11That was quintessentially krista
00:39:13again thinking
00:39:15Really in that moment of her greatest triumph
00:39:18Her thoughts were about us
00:39:20And she was really special in that way
00:39:23It's the start of an amazing experience
00:39:26Soon krista will train alongside challengers crew for the journey into space
00:39:34The problem with the o-rings has still not been resolved a few weeks later Beaujolais excitement with the task force is crushed
00:39:44One month one lousy month later
00:39:48We all realized
00:39:50That we had no power
00:39:52No authority
00:39:54No resources and no management support
00:39:57Well, how in heck can you get anything done?
00:39:59If you don't have any of those items that I just mentioned you can't
00:40:03And the frustration was just absolutely
00:40:06going up
00:40:07minute by minute day by day
00:40:12Here we go two months after her selection krista is about to leave home to start four months of training at nasa
00:40:20Hey, why don't you haven't had a chance since becoming the teacher in space her life has changed completely
00:40:26Overnight krista has become a national celebrity
00:40:29Her hometown of concord shares her excitement
00:40:32Many well-wishers turn out to celebrate with her
00:40:36Now being the teacher in space is a reality
00:40:39Her new life as an astronaut is about to begin. It's time to leave her family in new hampshire
00:40:45Oh, thank you so much
00:40:50Krista yeah, I think maybe you should go talk to scotty. I think he misses his mommy already
00:40:55Yeah, hey carolyn come come with poppy big swing and oh my goodness somebody's getting big could that be you
00:41:17I'd like to raise a toast to krista and her adventures in space and uh, well, thank you all for coming
00:41:24Thank you
00:41:27Krista
00:41:39Challenger's crew consists of dick scobie krista mccullough pilot michael smith
00:41:45And mission specialists ellison onizuka judith resnick
00:41:49ronald mcnair and payload specialist greg jarvis
00:41:55So
00:41:58Krista now has to learn everything they already take for granted
00:42:13Despite missing her family
00:42:15She enjoys every minute of her training
00:42:18Krista was very lighthearted
00:42:20most of the time but
00:42:22She did take it very seriously
00:42:26And at one point she asked me
00:42:30If I thought um spaceflight was safe
00:42:38She asked if I would fly and I said I would I said yes
00:42:45I think it's safe if it's safe enough for my husband
00:42:49and
00:42:51It will be safe for you
00:42:54But i've regretted those words many times since then
00:42:57So
00:43:16By late january nasa has already postponed the challenger mission several times
00:43:21The first launch attempt is now scheduled for sunday january 26th three days from now
00:43:29The crew arrives at cape canaveral from their base in houston to enjoy a traditional pre-launch beach party
00:43:39Before every launch the families all come together at
00:43:45A beach house and we all have a picnic dinner together
00:43:48But it was a bit cool and dick wanted to walk along the beach. So we walked
00:43:54Out and to the left toward the orbiter
00:43:58That was ready for lunch
00:44:00And it was glistening in the sunlight. It was beautiful
00:44:05We splashed in the water like kids and
00:44:08And came on back to the beach house to the others
00:44:12and the mood changed from
00:44:15those last
00:44:18Wonderful
00:44:21One last wonderful hour together
00:44:24And then we went back to the beach house and we had a little picnic and we had a little
00:44:30Wonderful one last wonderful hour together
00:44:40The night before the sunday launch
00:44:42Thunderstorms hit the area
00:44:44NASA cancels the flight and reschedules for monday
00:44:48By now krista is beginning to feel the strain
00:44:52Rain rain drops keep falling on my head on sunday evening. Both. She and greg jarvis are having trouble sleeping
00:45:01They find two bikes and kill some time
00:45:07Greg jarvis is an aerospace engineer with hughes aircraft and space
00:45:12They are both rookies
00:45:17Had the weather not turned bad they would already be in space
00:45:21right
00:45:33The next morning krista and her crewmates take their places in the shuttle
00:45:38Now there is a new problem with the external handle used to lock the access hatch
00:45:43Countdown is halted while engineers assess the situation
00:45:47The handle is jammed
00:45:51You know, we got a problem on removing one of the screws on the milk stool
00:45:56It appears it might have to be drilled out
00:45:58After two and a half hours the technical crew have to use a hacksaw to cut away the handle
00:46:05They are ready to go but they have lost precious time the wind is now too strong
00:46:12At 12 36 pm eastern standard time nasa scrubs the launch
00:46:18the news reporters
00:46:20were blasting nasa for not being able to
00:46:24to get a flight off on schedule to launch a flight and
00:46:30Even though the crew wasn't responsible
00:46:32for launch dates and times
00:46:35they
00:46:36They took the negative comments very personal. They had a lot of pride in their mission and they wanted it to
00:46:44to
00:46:45Be successful
00:46:51So
00:46:53The launch is rescheduled once again for the next day tuesday the 28th
00:46:58Even though the weather forecast predicts extremely cold temperatures down in the low 20s
00:47:09I first heard about the cold temperatures prior to the launch
00:47:12At one o'clock on the day before the launch
00:47:16And from past experience it just concerned me terribly
00:47:22And so we began to question the feasibility of launching at such a low temperature
00:47:29And we spent the rest of the day
00:47:32Raising these questions and the o-ring was your concern. Yes
00:47:42The launch is less than 24 hours away
00:47:45NASA can cancel the mission at any time if the engineers think it is too dangerous
00:47:53The temperature the next day is predicted to be more than 10 below freezing
00:47:58A shuttle has never launched in temperatures so low before a decision to fly or not has to be made
00:48:08With just hours to go roger beaujolais is part of a desperate attempt to try and stop the launch
00:48:15So
00:48:22NASA is running out of time tomorrow. They need to launch by 12 38 p.m. At the latest in order to reach the correct orbit
00:48:31Challenger is under scrutiny because it has krista mccullough the teacher in space on board
00:48:37Everyone knows nasa wasted a perfectly good launch opportunity because they couldn't remove a jammed handle
00:48:43With each delay their public image takes a beating
00:48:50Now the weather is closing in record low temperatures are forecast
00:48:57At 1 p.m. Standard time on january 27th nasa calls morton thicke hall
00:49:05The call goes through to beaujolais colleague arnie thompson
00:49:08NASA wants to know if morton thicke hall has any concerns about launching in the cold
00:49:14They called me the morning before
00:49:18They predicted temperatures of 18 degrees the next morning at flight time
00:49:24And that's when it really hit the fan big time
00:49:28We rushed into a meeting and four or five of us decided that we're going to make an attempt to stop the launch
00:49:33Four or five of us decided that we're going to make attempt to stop the launch
00:49:40The fact of the matter is o-rings don't work with a dam at freezing temperatures
00:49:45You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. All you have to have is a modicum of common sense
00:49:52Beaujolais and thompson alert the management at morton thicke hall of the dangers posed by launching at such a cold temperature
00:49:58By early afternoon their bosses are convinced they get on the phone with nasa to voice their concerns
00:50:06Morton thicke hall recommends against launching
00:50:12But nasa is reluctant to abort again unless there is hard evidence
00:50:17They need proof and want to scrutinize morton thicke hall's o-ring data before calling it off
00:50:28A conference call between morton thicke hall and nasa is planned for 8 15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
00:50:40We ran literally to our offices
00:50:44And basically rummaged through reports and file cabinets
00:50:48Just grab the current data and go
00:50:51We had 45 lousy minutes
00:50:54To prepare for the most important technical meeting of our careers wrap it up. Let's go
00:51:08It was now quitting time everybody left we were on our own
00:51:17Never before in history spaceflight had there been a company stand up and try to stop the launch of anything
00:51:24I'm talking about unmanned as well as man. Nobody no company has ever done that
00:51:45This is the moment beaujolais has been waiting for finally after a year of memos and calls he has a chance to be heard
00:51:54So
00:52:00As they gather in the meeting room the morton thicke hall team are confident they will be able to stop the launch
00:52:07Yes
00:52:08They know nasa would not go against a contractor's recommendation
00:52:12By 8 45 p.m. The call from nasa is connected
00:52:18Kennedy space center is responsible for all launches
00:52:21Larry malloy is nasa's manager of the solid rocket booster project
00:52:28The marshall space flight center in alabama is responsible for all rocket and engine systems
00:52:33Leading the team is deputy director of science and engineering george hardy
00:52:39The management team in morton thicke hall is senior vice president gerald mason
00:52:45Joe kilminster vice president of the space booster program
00:52:49And robert lund morton thicke hall's vice president of engineering
00:52:54By the time the teleconference starts launch is just 13 hours away
00:52:59The success of this mission and the lives of the seven astronauts hang on one simple question
00:53:05How will the o-rings react to the cold temperatures predicted for launch the next morning at low temperatures the o-rings are not so elastic
00:53:14They won't seal properly
00:53:16It'll be like putting a brick into a crack versus a sponge
00:53:22The grease too will be affected
00:53:25It will be thicker and not as slick
00:53:29We will have a higher o-ring actuation time and if that happens we will approach the threshold of secondary sealed
00:53:37pressurization capability
00:53:39So we have a situation where neither the primary seal nor the secondary seal will function
00:53:45After half an hour the presentation is finished and spirits among the engineers at morton thicke hall are high
00:53:55I'm a little confused by your presentation thicke hall
00:53:59You're telling me that we can't launch under 53 degrees yet
00:54:03Your own data suggests that you had blow by on the o-rings when we launched at 75 degrees
00:54:09The blow by was definitely worse at the lower temperature
00:54:14Then malloy asked for morton thicke hall's launch recommendation
00:54:19Their decision comes down to joe kilminster
00:54:22I have maximum of 10 confidence that he's going to stand by
00:54:27What we went into the meeting with and that was everybody was totally supportive of not launching
00:54:33And much to my surprise kilminster answers and says
00:54:37so I guess our
00:54:40Conclusions are that we should not fly outside of our database, which is 53 degrees
00:54:48And metaphorically inside of my body I went yes
00:54:53And I was absolutely on top of the world that lasted for about 10 seconds
00:55:10So
00:55:15The engineers at morton thicke hall are confident nasa will stop the challenger launch
00:55:20They now wait for the official response
00:55:22For god's sake morton thicke hall. When do you want me to launch next april?
00:55:28You guys are generating new launch criteria here
00:55:34Joe
00:55:36We have been flying for four years with a known condition in these joints considered and accepted by thicke hall
00:55:43Accepted by me and all levels of nasa management
00:55:47Think about this
00:55:50Think about your data
00:55:53Now to the layperson that might not mean much but to us inside in the program fully knowledgeable what's going on
00:56:00Those are metaphorical buzzwords for you screwing up my launch schedule
00:56:06Only nasa can postpone a launch all morton thicke hall can do is make a recommendation
00:56:12Now larry malloy at kennedy asked george hardy at marshall for his opinion
00:56:18When george speaks everybody listens
00:56:20Because george is one of the most highly recognized
00:56:24engineer managers on the program
00:56:28Thicke hall I am appalled
00:56:33But I won't go against the contractor
00:56:36In that case, I can't recommend launch
00:56:39It's the second no vote
00:56:42Because he would not overrule the contractor
00:56:44But it's also something else
00:56:47And he said he was appalled. That was a killer
00:56:50absolute killer
00:56:53With their next multi-million dollar contract still under negotiation with nasa the morton thicke hall managers are under intense pressure
00:57:01At this point senior vice president gerald mason intervenes
00:57:06Joe
00:57:08Ask him if he can take a five-minute caucus offline
00:57:13Larry could we take five minutes?
00:57:19We have to make a management decision
00:57:23Let's look over the data again and consider larry malloy's points
00:57:27If we launch at the predicted temperatures we are out of our experience base
00:57:33Even if we take 40 degrees
00:57:36As the temperature floor we are still way out of our database in launching at these low temperatures
00:57:42We are moving away
00:57:44From goodness, we're covering the same ground again
00:57:48We're just spinning our wheels
00:57:51To the engineer's dismay the managers ignore them and hold a private conversation
00:57:58The five minutes soon stretches into half an hour
00:58:01It's clear the managers are changing their minds
00:58:06Thompson makes a last-ditch effort to stop the launch
00:58:10And doing this so-called private meeting while we're offline
00:58:15I could hear and see the way it was going
00:58:18And I did something I probably would never do again
00:58:21even
00:58:22I picked up all my charts and went up to the middle of table because there was a vacant chair there
00:58:27And I went through the whole thing, you know as much as I felt I had time
00:58:33And the resiliency data and some of the other things
00:58:37They're associated with it and my worried about flying even at room temperature
00:58:43Finally, I looked up at jerry's face and that was pretty grim
00:58:48I just went back to my desk resolved that you know, it's gonna fly and
00:58:53Nothing I could do about it
00:58:57I
00:58:59Am so angry and so mad and so frustrated
00:59:03That I slammed the photographs down and i'm screaming at them
00:59:08Because I saw what they did to arnie to look at the photographs and not
00:59:12Avoid what they're telling us. It's very simple guys
00:59:17The lower the temperature the more hot gas
00:59:20Gets past the joint as you see in this photograph of the january 1985 flight
00:59:28I got the same identical treatment as arnie got
00:59:32And so I angrily picked up the photographs to return to my position at the table and I basically put my head down
00:59:39On my arms and I didn't I just I was I was I was so close to losing him
00:59:49Let's take a vote
00:59:52Do we recommend a launch
00:59:58Joe
01:00:02Every stinking piece of data we had 14 charts one of which was the title page
01:00:08pointed to
01:00:09a reason not to launch
01:00:12You can't launch with this data. It's impossible
01:00:23I think it's all right
01:00:26The vice president of engineering is on the fence and now he's being pressured to change his mind
01:00:36Bob
01:00:40You have to take off your engineering hat and put on your management hat
01:00:45So
01:00:54Hello kennedy marshall, yeah, I hear you joe
01:00:59Marshall here our position is that although temperature effects are a concern
01:01:09The data predicting blow by are inconclusive
01:01:15Now
01:01:18Are there any disagreements or any other comments concerning the thiokol recommendation
01:01:34The pressure is intense no one raises any objections not even beaujolais
01:01:41At nasa the silence means go for launch
01:01:46But when you're in a meeting like that
01:01:49And the question is posed whether anybody disagrees with the decision to launch and nobody disagrees
01:01:56Then that means that everybody agrees
01:01:59If anybody had been against launching they should have spoken up
01:02:06Since they didn't
01:02:07They tacitly agreed to launch and I don't care what they say today
01:02:12And what they've been saying for the last 20 years
01:02:15They agreed to launch
01:02:18The um
01:02:20Probability of failure, you know was there
01:02:23But they hadn't failed yet. So it's easy to say you want to fail. Why didn't you do this or didn't do that?
01:02:28I think but I I guess my feelings were and I hadn't thought about it
01:02:32But that you know, I had said what I had to say to my management
01:02:36And that's where it maybe should end
01:02:39Now an afterthought, you know, maybe I should have got up and screamed by them
01:02:45So
01:02:57They had six months to prepare and and they uh, they didn't and they tried to do it in an hour and
01:03:04And I'd really regret
01:03:06the decision being made
01:03:08But given the data that we had and what we knew I think we made the right engineering decision
01:03:14When I opened the door
01:03:17From the garage to my house in willard
01:03:20The first thing that my wife said to me is what's wrong?
01:03:24I said oh nothing, honey. I said I had a great day
01:03:28But I says we ended it ended up in a meeting
01:03:30I says we're going to launch tomorrow and kill the astronauts, but outside of that it was that great day
01:03:44So
01:03:49As the presidential commission progresses richard fineman is shocked to discover that nasa knew about problems with the o-ring seals
01:03:58They learn their performance in the cold is a major concern
01:04:04Then the weekend after the start of the commission the new york times breaks the story
01:04:10The next day a closed session is called to investigate the allegation
01:04:15Of the o-ring seals
01:04:17It just concerned me terribly and the o-ring was your concern. Yes
01:04:23Fineman and his colleagues learn of the teleconference the night before launch between nasa and morton fire call
01:04:29And that the engineers concerns were overruled
01:04:32They start to piece the evidence together
01:04:35It soon becomes clear that the engineers warned about the extreme low temperatures and wanted to postpone the launch
01:04:40Fineman is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. The commission focuses on the decisions made the night before the disaster
01:04:49First fineman questions robert lund the chief engineer at morton fire call
01:04:55Could I ask you a question?
01:04:57Could you tell me sir the names of your four top seal experts in order of their ability?
01:05:05Uh roger
01:05:07Beaujolais
01:05:09I think would be first
01:05:11uh
01:05:13with arnie thompson
01:05:15I'm, not sure who the best is
01:05:17It's number one and two
01:05:19um
01:05:21Jack cap jerry burns now. Let me ask one further question
01:05:25What is your opinion? Mr. Beaujolais about the seals about the decision that was made?
01:05:29Were you in agreement with the result of the caucus that decided it was okay to fly?
01:05:34No, I was not
01:05:37Mr. Thompson
01:05:39No, I was not in agreement
01:05:41Mr. Cap, he's not here. Well, does anyone know what his position was? Yes, I
01:05:47Talked to him. I said jack
01:05:50What did you really feel and he said I would have made?
01:05:55That decision given the information we had that evening
01:05:59Would or would not?
01:06:01Would have made the same decision
01:06:03So it may be that he was in agreement
01:06:06Yes, he was in agreement, uh, I I can't
01:06:10Put it closer than that
01:06:12and the fourth man's name
01:06:14Uh, jerry burns
01:06:16I don't know
01:06:17So of the four we have one don't know one
01:06:20Maybe yes, or very likely. Yes, and two who were first mentioned as being without doubt the seal experts. They both said no
01:06:29That's all the information I need. Thank you. That's all
01:06:32It's now clear to the commission that beaujolais and thompson's last minute attempts to stop the launch were overruled
01:06:41And that nasa's senior management made the final decision
01:06:49Feynman is convinced that the engineers were right and that the cold is at the root of the problem
01:07:02Following the new york times revelations. The commission is big news
01:07:07Professor can I have a minute? Uh, well, I I really have to go. It is february 11th
01:07:121986 two weeks after the challenger explosion
01:07:15In the full glare of the media feynman begins hatching a plan to put nasa itself on trial
01:07:21Now, could I have a glass of iced water, please? Of course. Look at that. I would like to call the commission to order, please
01:07:26Morden thiokol provides segments of the rubber o-ring for the commissioners to inspect our request that we were able to discuss
01:07:33It is nasa's manager of the solid rocket booster projects larry. Malloy's turn to testify
01:07:45You have a look in your eye that suggests to me you're up to something. Oh, I have a little uh
01:07:50experiment in mind
01:07:52Experiment in mind
01:07:55With the media watching closely the nobel prize winner is about to use a high school experiment to demonstrate the fatal design flaw
01:08:04This rubber thing that is put in the uh
01:08:08so-called o-ring
01:08:10That is supposed to expand to make contact with the metal underneath so that it makes a seal. Is that the idea?
01:08:16Yes, sir, and if it weren't there if it weren't in contact at all and there was no seal at all that would be a leak
01:08:25Yes
01:08:26You will always push the putty through because the motor pressure is 900 psi nominally
01:08:33And a thousand psi at max
01:08:37And that putty will sustain about uh
01:08:40200 psi
01:08:42Well now we couldn't put instead of this some sort of material like lead that when you squash it it stays
01:08:49It has to be that it expands back because there is a little bit of play in this joint
01:08:54And it has to be able to come back
01:08:56I mean, it's a rubber material so that it comes back when you move a little and it stays in contact. Is that right?
01:09:02Yes, sir
01:09:04The seal in order to work correctly. It must be rubber not something like lead
01:09:09Yes, sir
01:09:11Because when the seal moves a little bit when there is vibration and pressures it would lift the lead away which the rubber expands in place
01:09:19Yes, sir. So it's important that it have this property of expansion
01:09:24That is correct
01:09:26If this material weren't resilient for say a second or two that would be enough to be a very dangerous situation
01:09:34Yes, sir
01:09:36I took this stuff that I got out of your seal and I uh put it in ice water
01:09:41And I discovered that when you put some pressure on it for a while and then undo it it doesn't stretch back
01:09:48It stays the same dimension
01:09:50In other words for a few seconds at least there is no resilience in this particular material when it's at a temperature of 32 degrees
01:10:00I believe that has some significance for our problems
01:10:03It is a memorable moment
01:10:05Feynman's simple experiment has made the technical problem easy for everyone to understand
01:10:11But what is not easy to comprehend is why nasa allowed challenger to launch
01:10:17They knew the danger took a calculated risk
01:10:20and lost
01:10:36It's the night before launch and despite the desperate efforts of roger beaujolais and arnie thompson challenger's fate has been sealed
01:10:47In utah there is despair
01:10:50In florida, there is only anticipation
01:10:54At the kennedy space center krista mccullough says her last goodbye to her husband
01:11:00To make sure caroline is ready for the noise. Yeah. Yeah. No, she knows what to expect. I've walked it through with her
01:11:06So
01:11:17That's the third time I said goodbye
01:11:21Yeah, no, it's getting cold come inside
01:11:24Did I tell you I love you? Yeah. Yeah, you you mentioned it
01:11:32Have a great flight
01:11:35So
01:12:06On the launch pad the temperature is dropping fast
01:12:11Commander scobie and the rest of the astronauts don't think they will launch the next morning
01:12:17It had been cool, but then it was frigid that night before the actual launch
01:12:23Extremely cold. So dick told me then that they would not be flying the next day
01:12:29to go back and tell all the family members and
01:12:34Friends who'd come to go on home that they wouldn't be flying and they might not be flying for several days
01:12:40and um
01:12:41And it was a kind of a matter of fact that they that they wouldn't be
01:12:46I knew I would be staying and seeing him again
01:12:52The temperature plummets
01:12:56The astronauts pass the time thinking that tomorrow will be another scrub
01:13:03Out on the launch pad icicles as long as 18 inches are forming on the shuttle
01:13:12Despite the low temperatures challenger will launch the next morning
01:13:34So
01:13:38The temperature is 24 degrees, but when dick scobie phones his wife she's astonished to hear that challenger is go for launch
01:13:49He was not his usual self he was not himself he was not
01:13:53Uh, hey
01:13:55Great. See you later
01:13:57You know like he often did it was
01:14:00Uh anxiety in his voice
01:14:04Um
01:14:08And so long babe i'll see you in a week those were his last words to me
01:14:19As day breaks the temperature rises to 30 degrees nasa still has four hours to launch
01:14:30It's a sunny morning so they delay another two hours to let the temperature rise even further
01:14:43Well, mommy's face should make a lot of noise
01:14:47um
01:14:48I know just put your hands over your ears like this
01:14:52See you can't hear anything now, right?
01:14:57What's she doing
01:15:00Let's go
01:15:19Big smiles today
01:15:30I copy you. Bye. Bye. How are you?
01:15:34Good morning, mike. We're ready today
01:15:38the
01:15:39teacher
01:15:40observer, uh
01:15:42krista mccullough has been handed an apple by the
01:15:45Uh closeout crew. Good morning, krista. Hope we go today. Good morning
01:15:51To
01:15:56Krista's parents and the rest of the astronauts families are at the kennedy space center to watch the launch
01:16:07The temperature hits 36 degrees 30 degrees colder than any previous shuttle launch
01:16:22Okay
01:16:252 000 miles away at morton thiokol beaujolais and his colleagues are also watching
01:16:3730 seconds before liftoff the onboard computers take over they make the remaining thousands of decisions
01:16:46T minus 16 seconds sound suppression water starts
01:16:52The final countdown begins
01:16:56T minus 15 seconds t minus 10 9 8 7
01:17:046 seconds before takeoff the three huge engines ignite
01:17:11We have main engine start 4 3 2 1
01:17:15Line
01:17:20It launched and the air cracked with that six and a half million pounds of thrust and the ground shook
01:17:26And they were off
01:17:32Lift off of the 25th space shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower
01:17:46Program confirmed challenger now heading down range
01:17:54What no one has noticed as the shuttle rises from the launch pad
01:17:57Is a puff of black smoke from the lower part of the right-hand booster
01:18:02Due to the cold conditions the o-ring has not expanded to seal the gap
01:18:07Hot gases are leaking the pressure of the gas has pushed aside the second backup o-ring
01:18:16And we're sitting there
01:18:18And the vehicle ignites
01:18:20And clears the launch tower and I turned to bob and whisper looks like we dodged the bullet
01:18:25Because we had all expected it to blow up in the pad because that's what the propellant experts in engineering had told us
01:18:35Roger roll challenger
01:18:39Roll program confirmed challenger now heading down range
01:18:46Engines beginning throttling down now at 94
01:18:56Intense hot gases within the right-hand booster begin to blow by the damaged first o-ring
01:19:0356 seconds into the flight
01:19:06An entire section of the first o-ring has burned away
01:19:09Hot gas starts to stream out past the displaced second o-ring
01:19:13cameras
01:19:16On the ground show a plume of fire from the booster
01:19:19The flame is eating away at the wall of the booster burning a bigger and bigger hole
01:19:2561 seconds the flame is now in contact with the bottom of the external fuel tank which contains flammable liquid hydrogen
01:19:33Three engines are running normally three good fuel cells
01:19:3764 seconds
01:19:39The flame burns a small hole in the tank
01:19:42As the hydrogen begins to burn the plume changes shape no one on the ground is aware of what is happening
01:19:5070 seconds the flame burns through into the hydrogen tank pressure and the tank drops
01:19:56It's throttling up three inches now 104 percent down here go and throttle up at 72.3 seconds
01:20:02The flame burns through the support that attaches the right hand booster to the base of the external tank
01:20:09The booster starts to swivel
01:20:11The lower end swings outwards
01:20:16At 72.5 seconds the nozzle at the base of the right-hand booster swivels sharply to counteract the swinging motion
01:20:24A violent shudder goes through challenger
01:20:2872.6 seconds hydrogen is now pouring out of the bottom of the tank where the strut has burned through
01:20:3772.9 seconds the instruments go haywire
01:20:41They are rapidly running out of fuel
01:20:44At 73.1 seconds the bottom of the hydrogen tank falls away
01:20:53The force of the erupting gas pushes the tank up into the base of the oxygen tank
01:20:58The nose of the swiveling booster hits the top of the external tank ripping it open
01:21:03There was a sudden brilliant flash as the oxygen and hydrogen mix
01:21:0773.5 seconds challenger's engine shut down. The last data from challenger is radioed to earth
01:21:17The explosion blasts the shuttle free it is tumbling through the atmosphere at
01:21:231,250 miles per hour
01:21:26The enormous stress tears the shuttle apart
01:21:37The nose section is torn off it contains the crew cabin and the seven astronauts
01:21:44The cabin is still heading upwards but air resistance is slowing it down
01:21:48On the ground people begin to realize what has happened
01:21:51Something is terribly wrong
01:21:54and then
01:21:55All of a sudden it it looked different
01:21:59And then it began to shatter in a million pieces
01:22:07Just like our hearts
01:22:24We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded my director confirms that we are looking at
01:22:31Check all of the families. We all look to each other
01:22:35With
01:22:37What has happened they all look to me steve in particular I remember his eyes he
01:22:44He
01:22:47He was in shock as well
01:22:51We were numb
01:22:54There were no words
01:22:57So
01:23:02Someone spoke up and said, uh, we have to take care of these families
01:23:07And get them back to crew quarters. So they put us on the bus
01:23:13We could see that uh kennedy space center had absolutely come to a halt
01:23:19and there was just
01:23:21crying everywhere
01:23:24So, um, I knew then that there was no chance that that um
01:23:29That dick was able to fly the orbiter back safely to the launch pad or anything
01:23:38The crew cabin is torn off in the massive explosion
01:23:42At least three of the crew are able to turn on their emergency air supplies
01:23:47But at this point the cabin is almost certainly depressurized
01:23:50The crew would lose consciousness within seconds
01:23:54The cabin takes almost two minutes to fall back to earth
01:23:59It is destroyed on impact as it hits the sea at 200 miles per hour
01:24:05No one survives I went to dick's room and found his um
01:24:13Well first I went to his room to weep privately
01:24:17I
01:24:22I took dick's briefcase back out
01:24:26And set it in my lap along with his parents and our children
01:24:30and it was um
01:24:32Why I would do that. I don't know except that it was so much a part of him. It was always with him
01:24:37and um, it had his his
01:24:41memorabilia in it it had
01:24:43His everyday things that the kids and I always saw him with his star charts his business cards
01:24:48and he had uh taped on it some of the
01:24:51Emblems from space and so forth and and we looked through it together
01:24:56and um right on top
01:24:59was um
01:25:00A paper on his in his handwriting
01:25:03That was a message
01:25:05Uh about the pioneer spirit and how important it space exploration was
01:25:14So
01:25:16We have whole planets to explore we have new worlds to build
01:25:23We have a solar system to roam in
01:25:26And if only a tiny fraction of the human race reaches out towards space
01:25:31The work they do there will totally change the lives of all the billions who remain on earth
01:25:43Three days later president reagan leads the country in mourning
01:25:48We come together today to mourn the loss of
01:25:51seven brave americans
01:25:55Sometimes when we reach for the stars we fall short, but we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain
01:26:04The best we can do
01:26:07Is remember our seven astronauts?
01:26:09our challenger seven
01:26:12Remember them as they lived
01:26:14bringing life and love and joy
01:26:17to those who knew them
01:26:19and pride to a nation
01:26:23We bid you goodbye
01:26:25We will never forget you
01:26:28So
01:26:38On may 2nd 1986 the presidential commission investigating the challenger disaster comes to an end
01:26:46It finds that the cause of the explosion is the faulty design of the solid rocket booster joints combined with other factors
01:26:53primarily the effects of cold temperature
01:26:56The commission concludes that no one person is to blame
01:27:00Richard fineman is unhappy
01:27:02He believes the truth has been glossed over and insists that his own conclusions be added to the official report
01:27:09He states that nasa is not communicating effectively with its suppliers and failed to recognize the importance of the o-ring problem
01:27:16I don't think we've uncovered any grand conspiracy theories here. The truth is much simpler
01:27:23What we found is that engineers and managers are not communicating effectively
01:27:26it might be that nasa is understating the risks to ensure the supply of government funds or
01:27:32They may simply believe that the shuttle is safer than their engineers claim
01:27:36Nasa owes it to the citizens from whom it asks support to be frank honest and informative
01:27:42So that these citizens can make the wisest decisions for the use of their limited resources
01:27:48For a successful technology reality must take precedence over public relations
01:27:54Because nature cannot be fooled
01:27:58Thank you
01:28:00Two years later richard fineman dies of the cancer. He has fought for nine years
01:28:05But with his work on the commission, he has done his country one last great service
01:28:10No one at nasa is held accountable for the disaster
01:28:13By the end of 1986 both larry malloy and george hardy retire from the space agency
01:28:22Robert lund vice president of engineering at morton thiokol stays with the company in a new more senior role
01:28:29Roger beaujolais testimony irreparably damages his relationship with his managers and his co-workers
01:28:39He leaves morton thiokol just a few months after the commission hearings
01:28:43He is a member of the board of directors of the national space agency
01:28:47He is a member of the board of directors of the national space agency
01:28:51He is a member of the board of directors of the national space agency
01:28:54He leaves morton thiokol just a few months after the commission hearings
01:29:00He never returns
01:29:06I did nothing wrong. I did everything right along with my colleagues
01:29:12And we paid a horrific price and and that's unfair and I would do it again in a heartbeat
01:29:24In light of the commission's findings nasa makes design changes to the shuttle
01:29:29An escape system is developed for future missions
01:29:32And the o-rings are redesigned
01:29:36The joints now have a heated layer to prevent the effects of cold and the third o-ring has been added
01:29:44Arnie thompson beaujolais friend and ally stayed on at morton thiokol as part of the rocket booster team
01:29:54So
01:30:02Krista always planned to use her fame to make education a national issue
01:30:08And her dream lives on today
01:30:15After the disaster the astronauts family set up the challenger learning centers
01:30:20They continue to inspire and teach a new generation of children across america and the world
01:30:27Krista's memory also lives on in space a moon crater and an asteroid are named in her honor
01:30:42The challenger disaster almost shattered the dream of space exploration
01:30:46Manned spaceflight is still a new science and the shuttle has always been an experimental spacecraft
01:30:53But every success and failure increases our knowledge and expertise
01:30:58In 1963 president kennedy announced that america would put a man on the moon
01:31:04He said it was worth pursuing not because it is easy, but because it is hard
01:31:11Despite tragedies like challenger
01:31:13Despite tragedies like challenger that dream is still alive
01:31:37You