Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Published Time：2010-01-09 14:53:18
In the first minutes after the accident, recovery efforts were begun by NASA's Launch Recovery Director, who ordered the ships used by NASA for recovery of the solid rocket boosters to be sent to the location of the water impact. Search and rescue aircraft were also dispatched. At this stage, however, debris were still falling, and the Range Safety Officer (RSO) held both aircraft and ships out of the impact area until it was safe for them to enter. It was about an hour until the RSO allowed the recovery forces to start their work.22
The search and rescue operations which took place in the first week after the Challenger accident were managed by the Department of Defense on behalf of NASA, with assistance from the United States Coast Guard, and mostly involved surface searches. According to the Coast Guard, "the operation was the largest surface search in which they had participated."22 This phase of operations lasted until February 7. Thereafter, recovery efforts were managed by a Search, Recovery, and Reconstruction team; its aim was to salvage debris that would help in determining the cause of the accident. Sonar, divers, remotely-operated submersibles and manned submersibles were all used during the search, which covered an area of 480 square nautical miles (1600 km2), and took place at depths of up to 1200 feet (370 m). On March 7, divers from the USS Preserver identified what might be the crew compartment on the ocean floor.23 the finding, along with discovery of the remains of all seven crew members was confirmed the next day and on March 9; NASA announced the finding to the press.24
On board Challenger was an American flag, dubbed the Challenger flag that was sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado. It was recovered intact, still sealed in its cargo plastic bag.
Part of the left solid rocket booster, salvaged by search and recovery teams
By May 1, of the right solid rocket booster had been recovered to choose the original cause of the accident, and the major salvage operations were concluded. While some shallow-water recovery efforts continued, this was unconnected with the accident investigation; it aimed to recover debris for use in NASA's studies of the properties of materials used in spacecraft and launch vehicles.22 The recovery operation could pull 15 tons of debris from the ocean; 55% of Challenger, 5% of the crew cabin and 65% of the satellite cargo is still missing.25 A number of the missing debris still washes up on Florida shores, such as on December 17, 1996, eleven years after the incident, when seven giant pieces of the shuttle were found at Cocoa Beach.26 Under Title 18, United States Code, Section 641 it is against the law to be in possession of Challenger debris and any newly discovered pieces must be turned in to NASA.27
The Australian aviator Bert Hinkler, the second person (after Charles Lindbergh) to fly solo across the Atlantic, had a connection with the Challenger disaster. A little piece of wood, a relic from one of Hinkler's hand-made gliders, was presented to the astronaut Don Lind in early 1986 as a token of appreciation for his coming to Bundaberg to contribute to the Hinkler Memorial Lectures. Lind in turn gave it to Dick Scobey, who took it with him on board the Challenger, inside a little plastic bag that they placed in his locker. After the explosion, the bag and the wood were recovered from the sea, identified, mounted, and later returned to the Hinkler Memorial Museum in Bundaberg.
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The article comes from: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
