Educational Media Reviews Online

This video is a short history and discussion of the space shuttle Challenger disaster that happened on January 28, 1986. Various flight controllers, scientists, and space consultants provide brief analyses to the narration of events that lead to the shuttle's explosion. Specifically, it was apparent during the investigation that there had been a history by one of the shuttle's designers, Morton Thiokol, to ignore warnings by its on-site inspectors regarding questions of cold weather and the O-rings that connected the twelve segments of the solid rocket boosters. On the specific day of the launch, which had to be held back four times before, the temperature had gone down to 36 degrees, nearly 15 degrees lower than any previous launch. Despite warnings again from on-site inspectors, upper management at both Morton Thiokol and NASA decided to launch the shuttle. The entire 73 seconds from launch to explosion are shown, along with the live reactions of onlookers and relatives on-site. The crew knew nothing about the problems with ice and temperature before the flight. The investigation films clearly showed that one of the O-rings in the solid rocket boosters failed, was flaring fuel throughout the liftoff, and finally disconnected the booster and ignited the hydrogen in the large external tank, causing the explosion. The shock from the American public was similar to the assassination of President Kennedy, in that the entire nation virtually shut down for the three days from the explosion to the burial ceremony for the astronauts.

The film is well made, is recommended for all viewers, and I think aptly describes in the short time period the causes, problems, and results of the Challenger explosion.