From the first flight in 1981 to the end of 1985, space shuttles flew over 20 successful mis-
sions, including many satellite launches and missions for scientific research. On January 28,
1986, the space shuttle Challenger launched carrying seven crew members, including Christa
McAuliffe, who was to be the first teacher in space. Just 73 seconds after launch, the Chal-
lenger started to break apart, and most of it disintegrated in mid-air, as shown inFigure
23.32. All seven crew members on board died. Later study showed that the problem was
due to an O-ring, a small part in one of the rocket boosters. Because of this disaster, space
shuttle missions were put on hold while NASA studied the problem and improved the safety
of the shuttles.
Figure 23.32: Plume of smoke from the Challenger disaster. The space shuttle Challenger
broke apart 73 seconds after its launch on January 28, 1986. ( 11 )
Shuttle missions started again in 1988, and there were over 87 consecutive missions without a
majoraccident. However, duringthetakeoffofspaceshuttleColumbiaonJanuary16, 2003, a
small piece of insulating foam broke off the fuel tank. The foam smashed into one wing of the
orbiter and damaged a tile on the front edge of the shuttle’s wing. These tiles are heat shield
tiles that protect the shuttle from extremely high temperatures. When Columbia returned
to Earth on February 3, 2003, it could not withstand the high temperature, and broke apart.
Pieces of the shuttle were found throughout the southern United States, especially in Texas.
As in the Challenger disaster, all seven crew members died.
After the Columbia disaster, shuttle missions were stopped for over two years while NASA
workedontheproblem. Oneyearafterthedisaster, PresidentBushannouncedthatthespace
shuttle program was to end by the year 2010, and a new Crew Exploration Vehicle would
take its place. The Crew Exploration Vehicle, now known as Orion is currently expected