1986-F01
Challenger's last mission began at 1638:00 on 1986 Jan 28. A rubber O-ring seal failed in the aft field joint of the right hand solid rocket booster. The seal failure developed into a hole in the SRB casing, with a tongue of flame playing on the External Tank. The rear attach point joining the SRB to the tank failed 12 seconds after the burnthrough, and the SRB pivoted outward, its nose coming inward and colliding with the nose of the ET. Telemetry from the Shuttle ceased with the words "Uh-oh" from the crew. Disintegration of the External Tank and ignition of its hydrogen fuel created a pressure wave which blew the Orbiter apart. Three minutes after the failure, the crew cabin hit the Atlantic at 3200 km/h. Much of the debris was recovered from the ocean floor and stored at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The SRBs, flying free and relatively intact, were destroyed in flight by the Range Safety Officer. It would be two and a half years before the next Shuttle flight.
The 51-L flight would have entered an initial 100 x 352 km orbit following the OMS-1 burn. ET impact would have been in the Indian Ocean at 80E 28S.
| 51-L | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Dec 16 | VAB/3 | ||
| 1985 Dec 22 | Rollout | LC39B | |
| 1986 Jan 28 | 1638:00 | Launch | LC39A |
| 1639:00 | RH SRB burnthrough | ||
| 1639:12 | Rear attach point failure | ||
| 1639:13 | RH SRB impacts nose of ET | ||
| 1639 | ET LH2 tank deflagration | ||
| 1639 | Orbiter disintegration | ||
| 1639 | STS stack breakup, 15.5 km alt. | ||
| 1640:26 | Debris apogee, 37 km? | ||
| 1642:46 | Crew cabin and debris impact Atlantic | ||
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