“Our Job Is Not To Wipe Out Propensities, But To Arrange The Stencils, To Design Society So The Best

‘The Challenger Disaster’ (US title. UK title: ‘The Challenger’ as shown in the above image) is a BBC/Science Channel original film about the investigation into the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger explosion amidst an attempted flight on January 28, 1986 which claimed the lives of seven astronauts: Commander Francis R. Scobee; pilot Michael J. Smith; mission specialists Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka and Ronald E. McNair; and payload specialists Gregory B. Jarvis and Sharon Christa McAuliffe.

I don’t want to do a disservice to the film or the processes responsible for the disaster by muddying up the details, so here’s a brief overview of the problem (via Wiki) which enabled the gradual disintegration and explosion of the shuttle:

Disintegration of the vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed, allowing pressurized hot gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external fuel tank. This led to the separation of the right-hand SRB’s aft attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Aerodynamic forces broke up the orbiter. image sources

A meticulous and intensive investigation was brought forth by the Presidential Commission, led by William Rogers, Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, and Chuck Yeager. The investigation revealed multiple flaws which led to the accident, involving: design flaws, mismanagement, poor communication between NASA and its contractors, inadequate safety procedures, and most notably - to which this film highlights - the “go ahead” approval on launch day under inadequate weather conditions that directly compromised the SRB O-ring joint seals.

Physicist Richard Feynman (above) was brought aboard the investigation as an outside consultant whom would be able to participate strictly as a scientist, free from bias or bureaucratic influence.

His overall assessment of the accident was thorough, honest, and explicitly raw science. Commissioners on the investigative board criticized Feynman’s report and threatened to throw it out, claiming it could be “too damaging to NASA.” Feynman, discouraged and furious, retorted with a threat of his own: that he wouldn’t sign off on the final report as a matter of conscience. The commissioners backed down and decided to include an appendix to the report which would include Feynman’s details, but suggested a more “toned-down version” be printed.

William Hurt, Bruce Greenwood, Stephen Jennings, Brian Dennehy and Eve Best in ’The Challenger Disaster’

Professor Feynman’s report ended with these prophetic words which still loom over NASA and in my opinion, all of science, today:

“NASA owes it to the citizens from whom it asks support to be frank, honest, and informative, so that these citizens can make the wisest decisions for the use of their limited resources. For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”

Watch the news report and interview with Feynman on the Challenger investigation and view the trailer for the film ’The Challenger Disaster.’

Soylent Green is people!

Do not eat Soylent Green!

A movie with a message that was ahead of its time.

I WILL STOP NOW 

I still believe in E = mc². But I can't believe that in all of human history we'll never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to go. I happen to believe that mankind can do it. I've argued with physicists about it. I've argued with best friends about it. I just have to believe it. It's my only faith-based initiative.

General Wesley Clark

Time Lords of Gallifrey, Daleks of Skaro, I serve notice on you all. Too long have I stayed my hand. No more. Today you leave me no choice, today this war will end. No more. No more.

The War Doctor

“Ahem… What’s Cool?!?”

Good God...

I don’t use this blog for politics, but will make an exception in this case,

I'm really excited for the arrival of New Horizons at Pluto!!!! Is there anything that you could share with us about it? I know you work at NASA so have you learned anything else that the public may not know?

I’m also super excited for the New Horizons probe to reach Pluto! - you’re not the only one to ask about this - I’ll gladly share what I know! Thanks for the great question:

Facts About New Horizons Approaching Pluto:

Transmission: Data Communications takes 4 and a half hours to reach earth. The data is sent across space at 1 kilobit per second… that is super slow, but also super efficient (see power bullet below). When the probe flies by Pluto all of its instruments will begin taking data. that data will then take 16 mounts to send back to earth.

Power Generation: The Probe is powered by Nuclear Power - known as an RTG (Radioisotope thermoelectric generator)! unlike solar power, Nuclear power does not degrade as it gets farther from the Sun. If the probe had solar panels, they would be many of times larger than the probe because sunlight is 1,000 times fainter at Pluto than it is at Earth.

Power Supply: The New Horizons probe runs on only 250 Watts / 30 Volts - that’s less power than a blender. This power restriction means that all of New Horizon’s systems are optimized for low power, which is why transmission takes so long.

Science Payloads: The New Horizons probe has 7 Science Payloads:

LORRI - The Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) is a long-focal-length imager designed for high resolution and responsivity at visible wavelengths.

SWAP - Solar Wind At Pluto (SWAP) is a toroidal electrostatic analyzer and retarding potential analyzer (RPA).

PEPSSI - Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) is a time of flight ion and electron sensor.

Alice - is an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer that makes one (of two) photographic instruments comprising the Exploration Remote Sensing Investigation (PERSI).

Ralph - The Ralph telescope, 6 cm (2.4 in) in aperture, is one of two photographic instruments that make up New Horizons‍ '​ Pluto Exploration Remote Sensing Investigation (PERSI).

SDC - The Student Dust Counter (SDC), built by students at the University of Colorado Boulder, will operate continuously through the trajectory to make dust measurements.

REX - The Radio Science Experiment (REX) will use an ultrastable crystal oscillator and some additional electronics to conduct radio science investigations.

The LORRI Imager: LORRI - or the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager - is what will be giving us awesome images of Pluto’s surface and its moon Cheron. Even with the Hubble space telescope we were only able get very bad images of Pluto, but with LORRI and the other imagers we will be able to see fine details. Look at this comparison of a Hubble image and an image taken with LORRI on july 8th. It is important to note that this image is still 6 days away from closest approach and 5,328,000 miles away from Pluto - AND it is now our best image. (calculated from escape speed * time. sources below)

Pluto & Charon From Hubble:

Pluto & Charon From LORRI on New Horizons:

On Board Spectrometers: The New Horizons probe has 4 on board spectrometers - these analyze light to see what the source material is made of. They will be useful in determining what Pluto is made of, what Pluto’s atmosphere is made of, and the composition of structures of the Pluto’s surface. New Horizons instruments such as Alice, Ralph, PEPSSI, and SWAP all have one of these devices.

Random Things It Contains: The probe also contains 2 CDs of those who helped the mission, two US quarters and flags, and the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh - the man who discovered Pluto in 1930. At the time scientist were looking for an elusive Planet X - which we now know doesn’t exist - that is what prompted Clyde’s discovery of Pluto (Image Below):

Thanks for the great questions everyone, you’re a really awesome and curious bunch! Feel free to ask about any space stuff that you are curious about. If you see anything wrong with my posts please let me know! I’m here to promote scientific literacy and I wouldn’t want to spread false information.

Credit/Sources: Hubble, NASA & John’s Hopkins, Vox, Wikipedia, Whole Sale Items (for compairison to house hold items power), (Also I work at NASA, so I just know some of it)