LOSS OF SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER JANUARY 28, 1986 70mm CAMERA FOOTAGE XD30054

Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website Scanned from a 70mm camera original, this silent footage shows the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Challenger was destroyed on January 28, 1986, and all seven crew members aboard were killed. The disaster was caused by the failure of the two redundant O-ring seals in a joint in the Space Shuttle's right solid rocket booster (SRB). The record-low temperatures of the launch reduced the elasticity of the rubber O-rings, reducing their ability to seal the joints. The broken seals caused a breach in the joint shortly after liftoff, which allowed pressurized gas from within the SRB to burn through the wall to the adjacent external fuel tank. This led to the separation of the right-hand SRB's aft attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Following the explosion, the orbiter, which included the crew compartment, was broken up by aerodynamic forces.