But the bulk of the wreckage splashed into the Atlantic, sinking to the bottom or drifting north with the Gulf Stream. Some of it landed on the sandy shore, luring the curious to comb the beaches. The smoke and flame appeared near a joint between the bottom two segments of the solid fuel rocket.ĭebris scattered across the sky after the explosion. Photographs of the Challenger launch show a puff of black smoke spewing from the booster milliseconds after the spacecraft’s engines were ignited and a spurt of flame pouring from the same area 15 seconds before the explosion. Wreckage of the shuttle’s right solid-fuel booster rocket is believed to be the key to understanding the tragedy in space. Recovery of the crew compartment probably will not answer the perplexing questions about why Challenger’s launch became a disaster. Clearly all pieces of evidence are important,” he said. “I would not want to characterize its importance. Mark Weinberg, a spokesman for the presidential commission investigating the shuttle explosion, said he could not comment on the significance of the find to the commission’s probe. In the forward seats of the upper flight deck were mission commander Francis R. The crew module is a 2,525-cubic-foot pressurized cabin in the front of the shuttle.Īt blastoff, McAuliffe was strapped into a chair in the compartment’s mid-deck. The base is 25 miles south of Cape Canaveral. “Assistance in positive identification of crew will be provided by Armed Forces Institute of Pathology personnel located at the Patrick Air Force Base Hospital.” “Local security measures are being taken to assure that the recovery operations can take place in a safe and orderly manner,” the statement said.
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