New photos unearthed from the doomed Challenger shuttle launch

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exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
A couple parachutes attached to the module would have been nice. Wouldn't think it would add that much weight.

This was a great movie I caught last year:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2421662/

William Hurt does a great job as Feynman (and Dennehey as that slimeball Rogers). Even knowing the ending, it was quite suspenseful.

Weight is everything in spacecraft.

The shuttle is already severely crippled in that it has too low a payload to orbit capacity because it exerts most of its effort just lifting itself.
 

Azraele

Elite Member
Nov 5, 2000
16,524
29
91
I remember that day. I was very young, but I knew something bad had happened and that my mom was crying and sad too.
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
A couple parachutes attached to the module would have been nice. Wouldn't think it would add that much weight.

This was a great movie I caught last year:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2421662/

William Hurt does a great job as Feynman (and Dennehey as that slimeball Rogers). Even knowing the ending, it was quite suspenseful.

IIRC, NASA considered adding parachutes to the crew cabin after the disaster but eventually ruled them out for several reasons.
 

Phoenix86

Lifer
May 21, 2003
14,644
10
81
I remember that day. I was very young, but I knew something bad had happened and that my mom was crying and sad too.
I was in elementary, we were watching it. :eek:

That day became a "movie watching day" while I'm sure they scrambled to figure out how to handle it. I don't recall them directly addressing it, but that was many blue moons ago.
 

sixone

Lifer
May 3, 2004
25,030
5
61
A couple parachutes attached to the module would have been nice. Wouldn't think it would add that much weight.

This was a great movie I caught last year:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2421662/

William Hurt does a great job as Feynman (and Dennehey as that slimeball Rogers). Even knowing the ending, it was quite suspenseful.

The parachutes would have to be on the outside of the module, but still able to survive the explosion that separated the module from the rest of the shuttle. I don't know how they could do that without adding a LOT of weight.

But then, I'm not a rocket scientist, either. :)
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Do you really think you're a better person than others because you know some random trivia?

Random trivia? It was on the news, it was on every website when it came out, it was a major disaster in many of our lifetimes. Common knowledge people, come on!!

EDIT- I asked my wife about it last night and she had no clue either. I demanded her shoes and beat her over the head with them. She is now banished to the kitchen where she belongs. :)
 
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Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
184
106
i'll take "better person from knowing random trivia" over "dipshit under a rock that don't know nuthin' about nuthin' no-how"

and, the challenger loss isn't random trivia. it certainly ranks as a major event of the 20th century.

Way to make that personal...

I didn't know either because it happened before I was born. The Shuttle program never really interested me until Columbia went down, and even then, I just wanted to see them fly again. Boo hoo.
 

Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
184
106
Random trivia? It was on the news, it was on every website when it came out, it was a major disaster in many of our lifetimes. Common knowledge people, come on!!

Okay...

And everyone's at least 28 on this forum...
 

davmat787

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2010
5,512
24
76
Random trivia? It was on the news, it was on every website when it came out, it was a major disaster in many of our lifetimes. Common knowledge people, come on!!

Yep, there were tons of websites in 1986. This disaster crashed them all due to the high traffic. :rolleyes:
 

sao123

Lifer
May 27, 2002
12,653
205
106
I had not known about the 2013 movie... hmm guess ill have to find it on the internet to watch tonight.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Yep, there were tons of websites in 1986. This disaster crashed them all due to the high traffic. :rolleyes:

If you read his earlier post, he seems to be suggesting that the information came out just over a decade or so ago, not in 1986 (that confused me too). Regardless, I don't recall reading or seeing anything about surviving the explosion until today.
 

Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
184
106
If you read his earlier post, he seems to be suggesting that the information came out just over a decade or so ago, not in 1986 (that confused me too). Regardless, I don't recall reading or seeing anything about surviving the explosion until today.

Well, according to some people in this thread then, you're an idiot along with me and a few others.
 

AViking

Platinum Member
Sep 12, 2013
2,264
1
0
As a kid they used to roll in the AV machine so that we could watch the shuttle launches live. So I watched the Challenger explode live and still remember that. Was pretty horrible.

That they survived was speculation and I didn't know that it has become "common knowledge". I must have missed that in the news. I'm so ashamed of myself for not being as awesome as the poster above.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Well, according to some people in this thread then, you're an idiot along with me and a few others.

I can say for sure, I didn't know - but I also was not around for it when it actually happened, and I sure as hell never cared to know if they in fact did survive the initial explosion. I don't want to to know - ignorance is bliss for that situation.
Now I feel even more sad about the two accidents. Thanks!


Now... where the hell is this future of space travel, already? We've sure been dragging our collective feet on this one, and it's getting quite old. I hate politics and politicians: it's like nobody understand the real value of what we can find out there, and, more importantly, what kind of results we can get when we push engineers to make all of that happen in the first place! So much advanced knowledge simply comes out of the R&D - there may not be a novel and new engineering feat to learn on Europa itself, but we can sure as hell learn a lot and make some serious technological progress simply getting anything to land and study there (like a Europa Rover), let alone a manned flight.
 

Kyle

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 1999
4,145
11
91
Add me to the list of "idiots" that didn't know they survived that long- I knew a decent amount about the tragedy but not that depressing detail...
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,465
7,215
136
As a kid they used to roll in the AV machine so that we could watch the shuttle launches live. So I watched the Challenger explode live and still remember that. Was pretty horrible.

That they survived was speculation and I didn't know that it has become "common knowledge". I must have missed that in the news. I'm so ashamed of myself for not being as awesome as the poster above.

Yeah, I remember seeing the second 9/11 plane hit on TV. Just one of those things that gets burned into your memory forever :(
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Yep, there were tons of websites in 1986. This disaster crashed them all due to the high traffic. :rolleyes:

DERP, people didn't know the crew probably lived back then. It was much much later when that came to light, you know, after internets and stuff like that.

Guess its not just common knowledge as I thought it was. Everyone feel free to go on with your lives :)
 
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destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Yeah, I remember seeing the second 9/11 plane hit on TV. Just one of those things that gets burned into your memory forever :(

Yeah, we were in school watching the news coverage, pretty much starting after the first tower was hit.
When the first tower hit, I was in Algebra and I think they kept it from us for that time. The classroom phone rang and it was a quick call.

The class after that though, for me, was History class. The TV was already on as we slowly got into class.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
I had a metal printing plate from that front page of that issue of the local newspaper. Rather perturbed that someone tossed it out.