Commemorating The Tragedy Of The STS-51-L Aircraft Explosion, NASA's Mission That Killed 7 Astronauts

Seven astronauts who died from the STS-51L mission. (Doc. NASA)

JAKARTA The United States (NASA) Aeronautics and Space Agency recalled the failed STS-51L mission and killed seven astronauts 38 years ago, to be precise on January 28, 1986.

Supposedly, STS-51L was a successful NASA shuttle mission. However, due to engine problems and unsuitable weather, the plane exploded and killed the astronaut driving on it. This explosion occurred about 73 seconds after takeoff.

Since the start, the launch of this shuttle has not gone well. The STS-51L mission is scheduled to launch on January 22, 1986, but was shifted to the following day due to the launch of the 61-C mission. On the following day, the mission had to be postponed again due to weather issues.

Even though the day has changed, the weather is still not improving. The launch schedule continues to be postponed until January 27. On that day, when the weather was already favorable, another problem arose from the cover of the ground service equipment hold.

The cover does not want to be removed from the penorbit hold so the technicians have to pay for the equipment and put the binding bolts back on. This problem was successfully resolved and the launch will be carried out the day after.

On January 28, the entire team, technicians, and astronauts for the STS-51L mission were ready at the Kennedy Space Center Inter-Jemput Landing Facility (KSC). They had delayed its launch again due to the failed hardware module in the processing system.

This launch was only delayed for two hours, after which the astronauts immediately flew the aircraft engine. About 0.678 seconds after taking off, photographic data found that the thickness of the smoke was getting thicker.

This puff of smoke continued to be seen in the second second to 2.733. According to NASA's analysis, this black puff of smoke indicates that the rubber ring-O and connection insulation in the connection seal were burned and eroded by propellant gases.

Although smoke is already rising in the air, the shuttle is still moving in space. In the 37th second, the astronauts began to be disturbed by the wind shift problem. This situation makes the steering system more active.

The photography frame in the 58.788 seconds showed the fire from one of the aircraft. This fire continued to grow and spread until the external tank broke. The driver of the rocket was solid and the external tank was broken in the 72.20 second.

In the next second, hydrogren caught fire massively and explosively. The seven astronauts eventually caught fire and could not be saved. NASA believes that this failure was caused by an O-ring that was not strong and affected by cold weather.

The seven astronauts who died on this shuttle mission were Francis Commander R. Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialistung A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka, and Ronald E. Mcnair, Space Teacher S. Christa McAuliffe, and Charge Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.