A Sad Moment in Time
Space exploration was barely conceivable in the sixties, twenty years later in the eighties, it was more of a reality. However, Space exploration came with its own risks. Such risks resulted in fatalities and families and friends with no closure. This was the case for the members of the Challenger disaster in 1986. It was near the end of January when the Challenger was set to launch. The tragic disaster happened 73 seconds after liftoff when two O-rings failed due to cold weather. The O-rings were designed to help separate the sections of the rocket booster to get the Challenger up into space. That day, despite the warnings issued to officials about the potential dangers the weather may present to the equipment, the Challenger was launched. The explosion killed the team of astronauts and a teacher selected to teach children from space. The crew on the ground, and those watching the live launch around the nation, watched the horrific event until the end after it plunged into the ocean.
The Columbia disaster
After that tragic day, many didn’t expect another accident to occur, but the tragedy continued. Which is why the Columbia disaster was such a surprise in the twenty-first century. The launch was set to lift off again in January 2003 to do some experimentation with microgravity. The trip would last seventeen days, and The launch went fine. however, the reentry was another story. On February 1st, 2003 the Columbia had a breach that occurred during the launch when the falling foam hit the panels on the underside of the left wing.
Life after tragedy
Seven people lost their lives that day fifteen minutes before returning home, before making contact with the ground. And so, another tragedy in NASA’s history went down in history. Today, 2015, some pieces of wreckage recovered from those two disastrous missions, are being put on display at the exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center for public viewing. This will be the first time in the history of both these missions where many can view the artifacts after being in storage for so long. The purpose is to show how the astronauts lived their life, rather than focus on the moment of their death.
