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Space Shuttle -- April 1983
Astronauts F. Story Musgrave …
7/18/08
Description Astronauts F. Story Musgrave, left, and Donald H. Peterson float in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Challenger during their April 7, 1983 extravehicular activity on the STS-6 mission. Their "floating" is restricted via tethers to safety slide wires. Thanks to the tether and slide wire combination, Peterson is able to translate, or move, along the port side hand rails.
Date 7/18/08
Space Shuttle -- April 1983
Astronaut Bruce McCandless I …
7/18/08
Description Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, mission specialist, participates in an extravehicular activity a few meters away from the cabin of the shuttle Challenger during the STS-41B mission. He is using a nitrogen-propelled hand-controlled Manned Maneuvering Unit. This was the first time an astronaut performed a spacewalk without being tethered to the shuttle.
Date 7/18/08
NASA Honors Fallen Colleague …
NASA's Kennedy Space Center …
12/9/09
Description NASA's Kennedy Space Center managers paid tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency's Day of Remembrance observance on Jan. 29. Kennedy Center Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana, Kennedy Deputy Center Director Janet Petro and United Space Alliance Vice President of Launch and Recovery Systems and Florida Site Executive Mark Nappi took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's Space Mirror Memorial. NASA's Day of Remembrance honors members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery.
Date 12/9/09
Astro Camp
Children who attend NASA's s …
1/1/95
Description Children who attend NASA's summer Astro Camp at Stennis Space Center enjoy a week of fun-filled activities. Campers learn what it is like to be a couple of inches taller in space and go through an astronaut obstacle course. They also learn how to build their own model rockets, which are launched on the last day of each camp. Campers also attend field trips to places such as the Challenger Learning Center at the Louisiana Arts and Science Center in Baton Rouge. Four weeks of Astro Camp are held during the summer each year-two camps for 8- to 10-year-olds and two for 11- to 13-year olds.
Date 1/1/95
Astro Camp
Children who attend NASA's s …
1/1/96
Description Children who attend NASA's summer Astro Camp at Stennis Space Center enjoy a week of fun-filled activities. Campers learn what it feels like to be a couple of inches taller in space and treck through an astronaut obstacle course. They also have the opportunity to build their own model rockets, which are then launched on the last day of each camp. Campers also travel on field trips to places such as the Challenger Learning Center at the Louisiana Arts and Science Center in Baton Rouge. Four weeks of Astro Camp are held each year during the summer-two camps for 8- to 10-year-olds and two for 11- to 13-year olds.
Date 1/1/96
Supriya Jindal visits school
Louisiana First Lady Supriya …
3/19/09
Description Louisiana First Lady Supriya Jindal (left) speaks to teachers and students at A.P. Tureaud Elementary School in New Orleans during a March 19 visit. At the school, Jindal was joined by retired NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Ride was a crew member on space shuttle Challenger during its STS-7 mission in 1983. She also was a crew member of space shuttle discovery on the STS-41 mission in 1984.
Date 3/19/09
Shuttle Destruction
title Shuttle Destruction
date 01.28.1986
description Hurtling out of the conflagration at 78 seconds are the Challenger's left wing, main engines (still burning residual propellant) and the forward fuselage (crew cabin). *Image Credit*: NASA
51-L Challenger Crew in Whit …
title 51-L Challenger Crew in White Room
date 01.08.1986
description Crew members of mission STS-51L stand in the White Room at Pad 39B following the end of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). From left to right they are: Teacher in Space Participant, Sharon "Christa" McAuliffe, Payload Specialist, Gregory Jarvis, Mission Specialist, Judy Resnik, Commander Dick Scobee Mission Specialist, Ronald McNair, Pilot, Michael Smith and Mission Specialist, Ellison Onizuka. *Image Credit*: NAS
51-L Challenger Crew in Whit …
Title 51-L Challenger Crew in White Room
Full Description Crew members of mission STS-51L stand in the White Room at Pad 39B following the end of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). From left to right they are: Teacher in Space Participant, Sharon "Christa" McAuliffe, Payload Specialist, Gregory Jarvis, Mission Specialist, Judy Resnik, Commander Dick Scobee Mission Specialist, Ronald McNair, Pilot, Michael Smith and Mission Specialist, Ellison Onizuka
Date 1/8/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
51-L Challenger Crew Remains …
Title 51-L Challenger Crew Remains Transferred
Full Description The Challenger crewmember remains are being transferred from 7 hearse vehicles to a MAC C-141 transport plane at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility for transport to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The STS-51L crew consisted of: Mission Specialist, Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher in Space Participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist, Greg Jarvis and Mission Specialist, Judy Resnik. In the front row from left to right: Pilot Mike Smith, Commander, Dick Scobee and Mission Specialist, Ron McNair.
Date 08/30/1988
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
51-L Flight Crew Emergency E …
Title 51-L Flight Crew Emergency Egress Training
Full Description The STS-51L Challenger flight crew emergency egress training in the slide wire baskets. From left to right they are: Mission Specialist, Ronald McNair, Payload Specialist, Gregory Jarvis, Teacher in Space Participant, Christa McAuliffe. Directly behind them: Mission Specialist Judy Resnik and Mission Specialist, Ellison Onizuka.
Date 1/8/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
McCandless on Arm in Aft Pay …
Title McCandless on Arm in Aft Payload Bay
Full Description Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, STS-41B mission specialist, tests a Mobile Foot Restraint (MFR) attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. McCandless appears to be walking on cargo, but is realy being flown over it by the combination MFR and RMS. His helmet visor reflects parts of the payload bay that can't be seen in the larger portion of the photo. Behind him can be seen both the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods.
Date 02/13/1984
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Members of the Rogers Commis …
Title Members of the Rogers Commission arrive at KSC
Full Description Following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in January 1986, President Reagan appointed a Presidential Commission to investigate the accident. The fourteen members of the Commission included former Secretary of State William Rogers as chairman, astronauts Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong, and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman. After months of investigation, the Rogers Commission identified the cause of failure as an O- ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster that ruptured due to the cold temperatures of the launch. Here, Alton Keel (left), the representative to the Commission from the Executive Office of the President, and chairman William Rogers (center) arrive at the Galaxie Theatre at KSC's Visitor's Information Center for a one day briefing and tour of the NASA facility.
Date 03/07/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
Artist's Concept of Seasat-A
Title Artist's Concept of Seasat-A
Full Description An artist's concept of Seasat A, the first spacecraft dedicated for oceanographic studies. Seasat A was designed for monitoring the Earth's oceans with active microwave instruments. The scientific objectives were to collect data on sea-surface winds, oceanography, sea-surface temperatures, wave heights, wavelength and direction, atmospheric water, and sea ice features. Seasat-A was launched on June 16, 1978, on an Atlas-Agena launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The mission ended after 116 days due to a failure of the spacecraft's electric power system. The mission demonstrated the feasibility of using microwave sensors to monitor ocean conditions, and laid the groundwork for future ocean missions. The science of oceanography began more than 100 years ago with the sailing of HMS Challenger. Challenger's round-the- world trip became the model for oceanographic voyages.
Date 5/16/1978
NASA Center Headquarters
Astronaut Administrator Rich …
Title Astronaut Administrator Richard Truly
Full Description Astronaut Richard H. Truly, pilot of the Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-2 and Commander of Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-8, became NASA's eighth Administrator on July 1, 1989. One day earlier he concluded a 30 year Naval career retiring as a Vice Admiral. He was the first astronaut to head the nation's civilian space agency. Truly became Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight on February 20, 1986. In this position, he led the painstaking rebuilding of the Space Shuttle program less than one month after the Challenger disaster. This was highlighted by the much heralded "Return to Flight" on September 29, 1988 with the launch of Shuttle Discovery, 32 months after Challenger's final flight. On February 12th, 1992 Richard Truly resigned as NASA Administrator at the request of President George Bush.
Date 10/01/1979
NASA Center Headquarters
Astronaut Memorial Space Mir …
Title Astronaut Memorial Space Mirror
Full Description A view of the Astronaut Memorial Space Mirror at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The memorial is a national tribute to the 17 American astronauts who gave their lives in the quest to explore space. The memorial has received added attention since the loss of the Columbia crew on February 1, 2003, when they perished in an explosion as they were returning to Earth from mission STS-107. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 03/06/2003
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
Backpacking
Title Backpacking
Full Description Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II ventured further away from the confines and safety of his ship than any previous astronaut ever has. This space first was made possible by the Manned Manuevering Unit or MMU, a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. After a series of test maneuvers inside and above Challenger's payload bay, McCandless went "free-flying" to a distance of 320 feet away from the Orbiter. The MMU is controled by joy sticks positioned at the end of the arm rests. Moving the joy sticks left or right or by pulling them fires nitrogen jet thrusters propelling McCandless in any direction he chooses. A still camera is mounted on the upper right portion of the MMU. This stunning view shows McCandless with the MMU out there amongst the black and blue of Earth and space.
Date 02/11/1984
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Bluford on Treadmill
Title Bluford on Treadmill
Full Description On Challenger's middeck, Mission Specialist (MS) Guion Bluford, restrained by harness and wearing blood pressure cuff on his left arm, exercises on the treadmill. Forward lockers with data recording units and checklist notebooks are to the left of Bluford.
Date 09/05/1983
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Booster Rocket Breach
Title Booster Rocket Breach
Full Description At 58.778 seconds into powered flight, a large flame plume is visible just above the SRB exhaust nozzle indicating a breach in the motor casing.
Date 01/28/1986
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Cernan Jump Salutes Flag
Title Cernan Jump Salutes Flag
Full Description Eugene A. Cernan, Commander, Apollo 17 salutes the flag on the lunar surface during extravehicular activity (EVA) on NASA's final lunar landing mission. The Lunar Module "Challenger" is in the left background behind the flag and the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) also in background behind him. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Challenger to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the Moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, Command Module pilot, remained with the Command/Service Module (CSM) "America" in lunar-orbit.
Date 12/13/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Challenger
Title Challenger
Full Description Close-up view of the liftoff of the Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51L taken from camera site 39B-2/T3. From this camera position, a cloud of grey-brown smoke can be seen on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) on a line directly across from the letter "U" in United States. This was the first visible sign that an SRB joint breach may have occured. On January 28, 1986 frigid overnight temperatures caused normally pliable rubber O-ring seals and putty that are designed to seal and establish joint integrity between the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) joint segments, to become hard and non- flexible. At the instant of SRB ignition, tremendous stresses and pressures occur within the SRB casing and especially at the joint attachmentment points. The failure of the O-rings and putty to "seat" properly at motor ignition, caused hot exhaust gases to blow by the seals and putty. During Challenger's ascent, this hot gas "blow by" ultimately cut a swath completely through the steel booster casing, and like a welder's torch, began cutting into the External Tank (ET). It is believed that the ET was compromised in several locations starting in the aft at the initial point where SRB joint failure occured. The ET hydrogen tank is believed to have been breached first, with continuous rapid incremental failure of both the ET and SRB. A chain reaction of events occurring in milliseconds culminated in a massive explosion. The orbiter Challenger was instantly ejected by the blast and went askew into the supersonic air flow. These aerodynamic forces caused structural shattering and complete destruction of the orbiter. Though it was concluded that the G-forces experienced during orbiter ejection and break-up were survivable, impact with the ocean surface was not. Tragically, all seven crewmembers perished.
Date 01/28/1986
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Challenger as seen from SPAS
Title Challenger as seen from SPAS
Full Description Full view of Space Shuttle Orbiter Challenger in space, taken by the Space Pallet Satellite (SPAS). A heavily cloud-covered portion of the earth forms the backdrop for this scene of Challenger. Visible in the payload bay are the protective cradles for the Palapa-B and Telesat F communications satellites, the pallet for the NASA Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA-2), the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) robot arm in the shape of the numeral seven and the KU- band antenna. A number of GetAway Special (GAS) canisters are also visible along the port side.
Date 06/22/1983
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Challenger Ferry Flight Flyo …
Title Challenger Ferry Flight Flyover
Full Description View of the Shuttle Challenger atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), NASA-905, during its return to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and flyover of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Houston skyline on Saturday, April 9, 1983.
Date 04/18/1983
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Challenger Rocket Booster
Title Challenger Rocket Booster
Full Description At about 76 seconds, fragments of the Orbiter can be seen tumbling against a background of fire, smoke and vaporized propellants from the External Tank. The left Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) flys rampant, still thrusting. The reddish-brown cloud envelops the disintergrating Orbiter. The color is indicative of the nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer propellant in the Orbiter Reaction Control System. On January 28, 1986 frigid overnight temperatures caused normally pliable rubber O-ring seals and putty that are designed to seal and establish joint integrity between the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) joint segments, to become hard and non- flexible. At the instant of SRB ignition, tremendous stresses and pressures occur within the SRB casing and especially at the joint attachment points. The failure of the O-rings and putty to "seat" properly at motor ignition, caused hot exhaust gases to blow by the seals and putty. During Challenger's ascent, this hot gas "blow by" ultimately cut a swath completely through the steel booster casing, and like a welder's torch, began cutting into the External Tank (ET). It is believed that the ET was compromised in several locations starting in the aft at the initial point where SRB joint failure occured. The ET hydrogen tank is believed to have been breached first, with continuous rapid incremental failure of both the ET and SRB. The chain reaction of events occurring in milliseconds culminated in a massive explosion. The orbiter Challenger was instantly ejected by the blast and went askew into the supersonic air flow. These aerodynamic forces caused structural shattering and complete destruction of the orbiter. Though it was concluded that the G-forces experienced during orbiter ejection and break-up were survivable, impact with the ocean surface was not. Tragically, all seven crewmembers perished.
Date 01/28/1986
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Challenger Wreckage Entombme …
Title Challenger Wreckage Entombment
Full Description STS-51L Challenger wreckage remains and boxes of debris being lowered into abandoned Minuteman Missile Silos at Complex 31 on Cape Canveral Air Force Station.
Date 01/29/1987
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Christa McAuliffe and Barbar …
Title Christa McAuliffe and Barbara Morgan
Full Description Christa McAuliffe and Barbara Morgan, Teacher in space primary and backup crew members for Shuttle Mission STS-51L. This mission ended in failure when the Challenger orbiter exploded 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986.
Date UNKNOWN
NASA Center Headquarters
Christa McAuliffe Experience …
Title Christa McAuliffe Experiences Weightlessness During KC-135 Flight
Full Description Sharon Christa McAuliffe received a preview of microgravity during a special flight aboard NASA's KC-135 "zero gravity" aircraft. A special parabolic pattern flown by the aircraft provides shore periods of weightlessness. These flights are often nicknamed the "vomit comet" because of the nausea that is often induced. McAuliffe represented the Teacher in Space Project aboard the STS 51-L/Challenger when it exploded during take-off on January 28, 1986 and claimed the lives of the crewmembers.
Date 1986
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Replica of Plaque Left on Mo …
Title Replica of Plaque Left on Moon by Apollo 17 Astronauts
Full Description This image is a photographic replica of the plaque that the Apollo 17 astronauts left on the Moon at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. Apollo 17 was the final lunar landing mission in NASA's Apollo program. The commemorative plaque was unveiled at the close of the third extravehicular activity (EVA-3). The plaque was made of stainless steel measuring nine by seven and five-eighths inches, and one-sixteenth inch thick. It was attached to the ladder on the landing gear strut on the descent stage of Apollo 17 Lunar Module "Challenger.
Date 12/12/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Richard H. Truly
Title Richard H. Truly
Full Description Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly served as NASA Administrator from May 14, 1989 to March 31, 1992. Prior to becoming Administrator, Adm. Truly served as NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Flight. In this position, he led the painstaking rebuilding of the Space Shuttle program after the Challenger accident. Adm. Truly's career began in the Navy and in 1965 he became one of the first military astronauts selected to the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory program in Los Angeles, California. He transferred to NASA as an astronaut in August 1969 then served as capsule communicator for all three Skylab missions in 1973 and the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. He was pilot for the 747/Space Shuttle Enterprise approach and landing test flights during 1977, and his first space flight was November 12-14, 1981, as pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-2). After leaving NASA, Adm. Truly became Vice President and Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta.
Date UNKNOWN
NASA Center Headquarters
Ride on the Flight Deck
Title Ride on the Flight Deck
Full Description Astronaut Sally K. Ride, mission specialist on STS-7, monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the Flight Deck. Floating in front of her is a flight procedures notebook.
Date 06/25/1983
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Ride on the Middeck
Title Ride on the Middeck
Full Description On Challenger's middeck, Mission Specialist (MS) Sally Ride, wearing light blue flight coveralls and communications headset, floats alongside the middeck airlock hatch.
Date 06/24/1992
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman …
Title Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman in Space
Full Description Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, she received a Bachelor in Physics and English in 1973 from Stanford University and, later, a Master in Physics in 1975 and a Doctorate in Physics in 1978, also from Stanford. NASA selected Dr. Ride as an astronaut candidate in January 1978. She completed her training in August 1979, and began her astronaut career as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on June 18, 1983. The mission spent 147 hours in space before landing on a lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California on June 24, 1983. Dr. Ride also served as a mission specialist on STS-41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 5, 1984 and landed 197 hours later at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 13, 1984. In June 1985, NASA assigned Dr. Ride to serve as mission specialist on STS-61-M. She discontinued mission training in January 1986 to serve as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger accident, also known as the Rogers Commission. Upon completing the investigation she returned to NASA Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Administrator for Long Range and Strategic Planning, where she lead a team that wrote NASA Leadership and America's Future in Space:A Report to the Administrator in August 1987. Dr. Ride has also written a children's book, To Space and Back, describing her experiences in space, has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and has twice been awarded the National Spaceflight Medal. Her latest books include Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System and The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space. She was also a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), which investigated the February 1, 2003 loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. Dr. Ride is currently a physics professor and Director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego.
Date 06/1984
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Dr. James C. Fletcher
Title Dr. James C. Fletcher
Full Description Dr. James C. Fletcher served as NASA Administrator from April 27, 1971, to May 1, 1977, and from May 12, 1986, to April 8, 1989. During his first administration at NASA, Dr. Fletcher was responsible for beginning the Shuttle effort, as well as the Viking program that sent landers to Mars. He oversaw the Skylab missions and Viking probes and approved the Voyager space probe, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. During his second tenure, he presided over the effort to recover from the Challenger accident. Dr. Fletcher died in December 1991 of lung cancer.
Date UNKNOWN
NASA Center Headquarters
Shuttle Destruction
Title Shuttle Destruction
Full Description Hurtling out of the conflagration at 78 seconds are the Challenger's left wing, main engines (still burning residual propellant) and the forward fuselage (crew cabin).
Date 01/28/1986
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Shuttle Engine - Out Test
Title Shuttle Engine - Out Test
Full Description This is a test of what happens during launch if a Space Shuttle Main Engine fails. The test was conducted at what is now called the John H. Glenn Research Center.
Date 05/18/1988
NASA Center Glenn Research Center
Space Shuttle Endeavour Roll …
Title Space Shuttle Endeavour Rollout
Full Description NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly addresses the audience in attendance at the rollout ceremonies of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour which occured on April 25, 1991, at the Rockwell International facility, Palmdale, Calif. Endeavour, the fourth Orbiter to join the fleet, replacing the lost Challenger, can be seen in the background.
Date 04/25/1991
NASA Center Headquarters
EVAtion
Title EVAtion
Full Description Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II, is seen further away from the confines and safety of his ship than any previous astronaut has ever been. This space first was made possible by the Manned Manuevering Unit or MMU, a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. After a series of test maneuvers inside and above Challenger's payload bay, McCandless went "free-flying" to a distance of 320 feet away from the Orbiter. This stunning orbital panorama view shows McCandless out there amongst the black and blue of Earth and space.
Date 02/12/1984
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Exhaust Trail of STS-51-L
Title Exhaust Trail of STS-51-L
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. This photograph, taken a few seconds after the accident, shows the Space Shuttle Main Engines and Solid Rocket Booster exhaust plumes entwined around a ball of gas from the External Tank. Because shuttle launches had become almost routine after fifty successful missions, those watching the shuttle launch in person and on television found the sight of the explosion especially shocking and difficult to believe until NASA confirmed the accident.
Date 01/28/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
First Class of Female Astron …
Title First Class of Female Astronauts
Full Description From left to right are Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride. NASA selected all six women as their first female astronaut candidates in January 1978, allowing them to enroll in a training program that they completed in August 1979. Shannon W. Lucid was born on January 14, 1943 in Shanghai, China but considers Bethany, Oklahoma to be her hometown. She spent many years at the University of Oklahoma, receiving a Bachelor in chemistry in 1963, a Master in biochemistry in 1970, and a Doctorate in biochemistry in 1973. Dr. Lucid flew on the STS-51G Discovery, STS-34 Atlantis, STS-43 Atlantis, and STS-58 Columbia shuttle missions, setting the record for female astronauts by logging 838 hours and 54 minutes in space. She also currently holds the United States single mission space flight endurance record for her 188 days on the Russian Space Station Mir. From February 2002 to September 2003, she served as chief scientist at NASA Headquarters before returning to JSC to help with the Return to Flight program after the STS-107 accident. Born November 8, 1947, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Margaret Rhea Seddon received a Doctorate of Medicine in 1973 from the University of Tennessee. She flew on space missions STS-51 Discovery, STS-40 Columbia, and STS-58 Columbia for a total of over 722 hours in space. Dr. Seddon retired from NASA in November 1997, taking on a position as the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group in Nashville, Tennessee. Kathryn Sullivan was born October 3, 1951 in Patterson, New Jersey but considers Woodland Hills, California to be her hometown. She received a Bachelor in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1973 and a Doctorate in Geology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1978. She flew on space missions STS-41G, STS-31, and STS-45 and logged a total of 532 hours in space. Dr. Sullivan left NASA in August 1992 to assume the position of Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She later went on to serve as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Judith Resnik was born April 5, 1949 in Akron, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970, and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland in 1977. Dr. Resnik left a job as a senior systems engineer in product development with Xerox Corporation at El Segundo, California to work for NASA in 1978. She died on January 28, 1986 on her second mission, during the launch of Challenger STS-51-L. Anna Fisher was born August 24, 1949 in New York City, New York hometown. She received a Doctorate in Medicine in 1976 and a Master of Science in Chemistry in 1987, both from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Fisher flew on STS-51A, the Space Shuttle Discovery's November 8, 1984, mission, and logged 192 hours in space, her second schedule mission was cancelled after the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L accident. She remains with NASA, where she has filled many positions over decades of service. Dr. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, she went on to receive a Bachelor in Physics and English in 1973 from Stanford University and, later, a Master in Physics in 1975 and a Doctorate in Physics in 1978, also from Stanford. She began her astronaut career as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on June 18, 1983, and later went on to fly on STS-41G. She withdrew from training for her third scheduled mission in order to serve on the investigative committee for the Space Shuttle Challenger accident and never returned to training, although she went on to work for headquarters and later to serve on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board before returning to the private sector as a physics professor.
Date 02/28/1979
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
STS-26 Welcome Home Ceremony
Title STS-26 Welcome Home Ceremony
Full Description After a two-year hiatus, the STS-26 mission was NASA's return to spaceflight after the Challenger accident. Waiting to greet the STS-26 Discovery astronauts in front of the Dryden Headquarters building are, from left to right: California Governor George Deukmejian, NASA Deputy Administrator Dale Myers, NASA Administrator Dr. James C. Fletcher, Vice President George Bush, Barbara Bush, Brig. Gen (Ret) Charles Yeager.
Date 10/03/1988
NASA Center Dryden Flight Research Center
STS-41-D Crew Enjoying Space
Title STS-41-D Crew Enjoying Space
Full Description Crewmembers of NASA's 41-D mission take a group shot displaying their fun moments in space aboard the orbiter Discovery. Crewmembers are (counter-clockwise from center) crew commander Henry W. Harsfield Jr., pilot Michael L. Coats, mission specialist Steven A. Hawley, mission specialist Judith A. Resnik, payload specialist Charles D. Walker, and mission specialist Richard M. Mullane. Dr. Judith Resnik is shown enjoying the weightlessness of space during her first mission. Born on April 5, 1949 in Akron, Ohio, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970, and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland in 1977. Dr. Resnik joined NASA in 1978 as a senior systems engineer in product development with Xerox Corporation at El Segundo, California. NASA later selected her as an astronaut candidate in January 1978, she completed a 1-year training and evaluation period in August 1979. Dr. Resnik died on January 28, 1986 on her second mission, during the failed launch of Challenger STS-51 L.
Date 09/06/1984
NASA Center Headquarters
STS-41C Astronauts Repair th …
Title STS-41C Astronauts Repair the SMMS
Full Description STS-41C astronauts George C. Nelson, right, and James D. van Hoften share a repair task at the captured Solar Maximum Mission Satellite (SMMS) in the aft end of the Challenger?s cargo bay. The two mission specialist use the mobile foot restraint and the remote manipulator system (RMS) as a "cherry picker" device for moving about. Later, the RMS lifted the SMMS into space once more.
Date 04/11/1984
NASA Center Headquarters
STS-51-L Debris (Airlock)
Title STS-51-L Debris (Airlock)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Search teams later retrieved pieces from the Atlantic Ocean. The recovered airlock, which joined the payload bay to the crew module, rests in storage with other debris from the Shuttle's final mission.
Date UNKNOWN
NASA Center Headquarters
STS-51-L Debris Aboard the U …
Title STS-51-L Debris Aboard the USGS Cutter Dallas
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. With the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy, search and recovery teams began retrieving pieces of the Shuttle from the Atlantic Ocean soon after the accident. Vessels brought the debris to the Trident Basin at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where they waited to be shipped to Kennedy Space Center for investigation. The USCG Cutter Dallas transported this fragment of exterior tiling.
Date 01/30/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
STS-51-L Recovered Debris (B …
Title STS-51-L Recovered Debris (Burn Marks on the SRM)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Shown here is an interior view of the scorched hole in Space Shuttle Challenger's right Solid Rocket Motor. The tapered edges along the hole indicate the inside to outside path of the fire that lead to the accident. A propellant fire in the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) burned its way outward through the metal, breaching the liquid hydrogen tank and possibly separating the External Tank from the right SRB.
Date 04/15/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
STS-51-L Recovered Debris (E …
Title STS-51-L Recovered Debris (ET and SRBs)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. After the accident, search and recovery teams worked for months to bring debris from the Shuttle to impoundment areas at the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where reconstruction teams separated the pieces of the Orbiter from those of the External Tank (ET) and the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB). Taped squares on the floor turned the impoundment areas into a grid in which the reconstruction teams could piece together the Shuttle debris like a puzzle with many missing segments. Shown here are the remains of the ET and, at the far end, the frustums of the two SRBs. The frustum is the section of the conical end of the rocket that remains after the tip has been removed.
Date 04/09/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
STS-51-L Recovered Debris (F …
Title STS-51-L Recovered Debris (Forward Skirt)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Using submarines and sonar, among other equipment, to scan the ocean floor for debris, search and recovery teams located many pieces of the Shuttle. Shown here is the forward skirt of the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which transfers thrust loads from the SRB to the External Tank and contains much of the SRB's electrical and instrumentation subsystem.
Date 04/23/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
STS-51-L Recovered Debris (L …
Title STS-51-L Recovered Debris (Left Sidewall)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Search and recovery teams located pieces of both the left and right sidewall of the Shuttle during the months long retrieval effort that followed. While heat and fire damage scarred the right sidewall, the left sidewall, depicted here, escaped the flames and suffered from only overload fractures and deep gouge marks. The largest intact piece formed part of the payload bay sidewall and measured approximately thirty by twelve feet.
Date 04/08/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
STS-51-L Recovered Debris (L …
Title STS-51-L Recovered Debris (Left Solid Rocket Booster)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Search and recovery teams lifted this fragment of the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) from the ocean onto a waiting ship and then returned it to Kennedy Space Center for the investigation into causes of the accident. A chemical profile on the propellant traces remaining on the metal combined with its ocean location in comparison to radar trajectory charts led the teams to conclude that this piece of debris belonged to the left-hand SRB.
Date 03/07/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
STS-51-L Recovered Debris (L …
Title STS-51-L Recovered Debris (Lower Right Vertical Stabilizer)
Full Description On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. Among other debris found in the ocean, search and recovery teams located this piece of the right vertical stabilizer. Although the stabilizer's surface suffered some heat discoloration and burns, the inner aluminum structure showed no signs of having melted. Investigators found various pieces of material from other parts of the Shuttle embedded into the surface of the thermal protection tiles, as well as exhaust traces.
Date 04/16/1986
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
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