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Runaway1956 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Divers uncover wreckage from destroyed Challenger space shuttle, NASA says

Divers for a History Channel documentary have found a large section of the destroyed space shuttle Challenger, NASA says.

In a news release Thursday, the American space organization announced a large section of the destroyed space shuttle was discovered buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery comes more than three decades after the space shuttle exploded, killing a teacher and six others.

“Of course, the emotions come back, right?” said Michael Ciannilli, a NASA manager who confirmed the remnant’s authenticity.

When he saw the underwater video footage, “My heart skipped a beat, I must say, and it brought me right back to 1986 … and what we all went through as a nation.”

The finding is the first remnant to be discovered since two fragments from the left wing washed ashore in 1996, Ciannilli said.

Divers for the documentary first spotted the piece in March while looking for wreckage of a Second World War plane. NASA verified through video a few months ago the piece was part of the Challenger shuttle that broke apart shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986. All seven on board were killed, including the first schoolteacher bound for space, Christa McAuliffe.

The footage made for “pretty clear and convincing evidence,” Ciannilli said.

The piece is roughly 4.5 metres by 4.5 metres, but is believed to be bigger because part of it is covered with sand. Due to the square thermal tiles on the piece, it’s believed to be from the shuttle’s belly, Ciannilli said.

The fragment remains on the ocean floor just off the Florida coast near Cape Canaveral as NASA determines the next step. It remains the property of the U.S. government, and the families of all seven Challenger crew members have been notified.

“We want to make sure whatever we do, we do the right thing for the legacy of the crew,” Ciannilli said.

About 107 metric tons of Challenger debris have been found since the accident, representing about 47 per cent of the entre shuttle including parts of the two solid-fuel boosters and external fuel tank.

Most of the recovered wreckage remains buried in abandoned missile silos at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, except for a left side shuttle panel that is on display at Kennedy Space Center’s visitor complex. It sits alongside the charred cockpit window frame from shuttle Columbia, which broke apart over Texas during reentry in 2003, killing seven astronauts.

Launched on an exceptionally cold morning, Challenger was brought down by eroded O-ring seals in the right booster. A History Channel documentary detailing the latest Challenger discovery premiers Nov. 22.

https://globalnews.ca/news/9272070/nasa-challenger-wreckage-discovery/ [globalnews.ca]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/divers-find-challenger-space-shuttle-wreckage-off-florida-coast-2022-11-10/ [reuters.com]

Divers find Challenger space shuttle wreckage off Florida coast
By Dan Whitcomb
Nov 10 (Reuters) - Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.

The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles, the space agency said in a written statement.

"This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in the statement.

The divers were exploring the sea floor off Florida earlier this year as part of a History Channel documentary called "The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters" about the swath of the Atlantic Ocean long subject to myths surrounding the supposed supernatural vanishing of planes and ships.

They were looking for the wreckage of a PBM Martin Mariner Rescue Plane that disappeared without a trace on Dec. 5, 1945, while searching for five U.S. Navy torpedo bombers that had also went missing that day.

The find marks the first time in 25 years that a piece of the Challenger has been located.

Nelson said NASA was trying to determine whether to recover the wreckage and "what additional actions it may take regarding the artifact that will properly honor the legacy of Challenger's fallen astronauts and the families who loved them."

The Challenger erupted into a ball of flame 73 seconds after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986. All seven crew members were killed, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe.

Subsequent investigations blamed the disaster on compromised O-Ring seals on a solid rocket booster, worsened by unusually cold temperatures.

It remains one of the worst disasters in the history of the U.S. space program.

This story has been corrected to fix the location of failed O ring in the penultimate paragraph and add dropped word 'bombers' in the fifth paragraph

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