Challenger - Countdown To Disaster

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 20:59

Channel 4 Thu Feb 02 9:00 PM
1 (125 min., Subtitledin English, United Kingdom, Education/Science/Factual Topics)
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On 28th January 1986, the American nation was plunged into mourning when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in the skies over Florida, killing all seven crew. Challenger and her crew were doomed before they left the launch pad. This is the story of how, despite every warning, that tragedy came to pass.

Using dramatic reconstructions based on factual information and the moving stories of those who were there, this film follows the fortunes of Challenger's crew in the year leading up to their deaths, and the increasingly desperate attempts of two engineers to stop the launch. While Christa McAuliffe (a teacher, planned to be the first ordinary citizen to go into space) and Challenger's commander Dick Scobee prepared for a flight that should have made history, engineers had discovered that a vital component of the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters was faulty and, instead of ushering in a new era of space travel for all, Challenger's ill-fated flight exposed just how unready the shuttle was to fly at all. Interviewees include Roger Boisjoly, engineer at Morton Thiokol and the 'whistle blower'; Arnie Thompson, also an engineer at Morton Thiokol; Jud Lovingood, deputy to the manager of shuttle propulsion at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; and June Scobee, wife of Dick Scobee, Challenger's commander.

Could be a good watch.

Jokester · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:10

Yeah watching this now, from what I remember the crew weren't actually thought to have been killed until the crew compartment hit the water.

Quite a shocking story of how the engineer's were ignored if I remember correctly.

Jokester

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:12

Jokester said:
Yeah watching this now, from what I remember the crew weren't actually thought to have been killed until the crew compartment hit the water.

Quite a shocking story of how the engineer's were ignored if I remember correctly.

Jokester

Phew thought it was going to be a lonely thread.

Yeah it seems they ignored the warnings.

NathanE · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:13

Watching.

Just saw Reagan's national address footage. My god that small speech was better than every word to have exited Bush's mouth since he took office!

Creature · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:13

Missed the first 10 minutes, have I missed anything important yet?

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:14

Creature said:
Missed the first 10 minutes, have I missed anything important yet?

Just the explosion, now they are trying to find out why it blew up.

Messiah Khan · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:16

NathanE said:
Watching.

Just saw Reagan's national address footage. My god that small speech was better than every word to have exited Bush's mouth since he took office!

Quite a short, but very effective speech wasn't it. I've seen the Challenger disaster story quite a few times, but im still watching this as well.

Creature · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:18

What a lovely meal, Burgers

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:20

I suppose the only good thing is, they all died doing something they loved. Although it needent had happened

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:26

They lost a shuttle due to something as simple as rubber o rings, omg how stupid.

Creature · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:27

Yea I know

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:29

Whats even more stupid is the fact they risked saftey when it was supposed to be a showcase for nasa, attracting lots of media attention. The got lots of attetion but for the wrong reasons.

homerio · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:40

<3 Feynman

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:44

700 problems, that could lead to losing the shuttle wtf.

Ev0 · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:48

Dam I hope the other half remember to put this on the pvr.

I learnt a lot about this at uni, our mechanical reliability lecturer was involved or something somewhere along the lines and he banged on and on about it and where people went wrong (i.e. didn't listen) every lecture, sad sad story

Jokester · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:48

cymatty said:
700 problems, that could lead to losing the shuttle wtf.

It was calculated that 1 in 100 shuttle flights would end in disaster, in reality it's been 1 in 60ish.

The quicker it's replaced the better.

Jokester

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:50

Jokester said:
It was calculated that 1 in 100 shuttle flights would end in disaster, in reality it's been 1 in 60ish.

The quicker it's replaced the better.

Jokester

Are NASA still cash stapped though, if they are i cant see this happening.

chopchop · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:54

i saw this a few weeks back. the design people said a washer was unlikely to stand a cold temperature, but the managers insisted that they carry on with the launch anyway.

idiots!!

Jokester · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:55

cymatty said:
Are NASA still cash stapped though, if they are i cant see this happening.

It would appear that George Bush is backing NASA to go to Mars, but how much cold hard cash he's giving them I'm not sure, it certainly won't be enough for going to Mars or even returning to the Moon in a hurry I would have thought.

If anyone is going to do it, it'll be the Chinese.

By the sounds of things, NASA will be going back to what they intended originally, a small reusable craft for crew only.

Jokester

cymatty · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:55

chopchop said:
i saw this a few weeks back. the design people said a washer was unlikely to stand a cold temperature, but the managers insisted that they carry on with the launch anyway.

idiots!!

They said the washer was unstable at any temprature. :eek: