STS-51-L Mission timeline is a detailed timeline of events from the ignition of Challenger's main engines to the remote destruction of the two Solid Rocket Boosters, and includes a transcript of crew conversations from the Cockpit Voice Recorder on board the Orbiter.
STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time a civilian had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from launch pad 39B on January 28, 1986 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission ended in disaster following the destruction of Challenger 73 seconds after lift-off because of the failure of an O-ring seal on Challenger's right solid rocket booster, which led to the rapid disintegration of the shuttle stack due to overwhelming aerodynamic pressures. The seven-member crew was killed some time after the breakup of the vehicle.
Read more about STS-51-L Mission Timeline: Summary Timeline, Detailed Timeline and Transcript, References
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