UNKNOWN SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER DISASTER FILM DISCOVERED
A heart-rending original film of the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger shot by an amateur has been brought to light twenty-four years after the Challenger disaster brought the American space program to a halt. Dr. Marc A. Wessels, Director of the Space Exploration Archive in Louisville, Kentucky discovered the video. Space Exploration Archive (SEA) is a non-profit educational organization committed to the peaceful use of Outer Space. Wessels learned of the video while in conversation with the late Dr. Jack Moss, a long-time resident of Corydon Indiana. Moss was an optometrist and a veteran of the Second World War having served in the U.S. Army. Moss was at his new vacation home in Winter Haven, Florida in his front yard hoping to capture the launch of STS-51-L, the space shuttle mission carrying a diverse crew, including the first civilian, teacher-in-space, Christa McAuliffe
In the video, the mailman goes by on his daily routine of delivering letters– the space shuttle launch had become so common place that average Americans took for granted the normalcy of space flight operations. A few neighbors of Moss appear intermittently as they check the progress of the space shuttle launch looking for the first sighting of the pillar of smoke, a tell-tale sign of a liftoff from the Kennedy space center. Shortly the pillar appears over the palm trees and roof tops of the local neighbors. The single column of exhaust smoke from the liftoff of Challenger is apparent and then the column begins to break up into two distinct lines. It is apparent that something is wrong – and Moss is heard to ask, “Is that right? Something looks wrong…”
A neighbor yells out from across the street to Moss that the television is reporting that the shuttle has exploded. The film continues to record the compelling photographic record of the first fatal in-flight accident occurred. Seven American astronauts, including the heralded McAuliffe, are dead, killed within the cabin of Challenger. Later, Presidential and independent reviews reveal the cause: poor-decision-making, NASA mismanagement, political pressures and a seemingly insignificant O-Ring failure due to the freezing temperatures that Challenger had endured while awaiting launch. Records indicated NASA had been warned previously that Challenger's solid rocket motor could explode at ignition under such circumstances.
In the closing seconds of the film the camera pans down from the horrific iconic image of the smoky remains of the exploded Challenger. In Moss’ front yard is a white shrouded grapefruit tree covered the night before to protect it from the very cold temperatures. Wessels noted, “This historic film needs to be seen. It captures a date frozen in history - January 28, 1986 – a tragic day for the American space program. The film is a graphic reminder: space-faring has had its cost. And we must do all in our power to ensure that tragedies like this one are not repeated.”
A heart-rending original film of the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger shot by an amateur has been brought to light twenty-four years after the Challenger disaster brought the American space program to a halt. Dr. Marc A. Wessels, Director of the Space Exploration Archive in Louisville, Kentucky discovered the video. Space Exploration Archive (SEA) is a non-profit educational organization committed to the peaceful use of Outer Space. Wessels learned of the video while in conversation with the late Dr. Jack Moss, a long-time resident of Corydon Indiana. Moss was an optometrist and a veteran of the Second World War having served in the U.S. Army. Moss was at his new vacation home in Winter Haven, Florida in his front yard hoping to capture the launch of STS-51-L, the space shuttle mission carrying a diverse crew, including the first civilian, teacher-in-space, Christa McAuliffe
In the video, the mailman goes by on his daily routine of delivering letters– the space shuttle launch had become so common place that average Americans took for granted the normalcy of space flight operations. A few neighbors of Moss appear intermittently as they check the progress of the space shuttle launch looking for the first sighting of the pillar of smoke, a tell-tale sign of a liftoff from the Kennedy space center. Shortly the pillar appears over the palm trees and roof tops of the local neighbors. The single column of exhaust smoke from the liftoff of Challenger is apparent and then the column begins to break up into two distinct lines. It is apparent that something is wrong – and Moss is heard to ask, “Is that right? Something looks wrong…”
A neighbor yells out from across the street to Moss that the television is reporting that the shuttle has exploded. The film continues to record the compelling photographic record of the first fatal in-flight accident occurred. Seven American astronauts, including the heralded McAuliffe, are dead, killed within the cabin of Challenger. Later, Presidential and independent reviews reveal the cause: poor-decision-making, NASA mismanagement, political pressures and a seemingly insignificant O-Ring failure due to the freezing temperatures that Challenger had endured while awaiting launch. Records indicated NASA had been warned previously that Challenger's solid rocket motor could explode at ignition under such circumstances.
In the closing seconds of the film the camera pans down from the horrific iconic image of the smoky remains of the exploded Challenger. In Moss’ front yard is a white shrouded grapefruit tree covered the night before to protect it from the very cold temperatures. Wessels noted, “This historic film needs to be seen. It captures a date frozen in history - January 28, 1986 – a tragic day for the American space program. The film is a graphic reminder: space-faring has had its cost. And we must do all in our power to ensure that tragedies like this one are not repeated.”
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