Space Shuttle Challenger
The Space Shuttle Challenger (English for challenger ) was the third space shuttle NASA after the space- disabled prototype Enterprise and the first fully airworthy Columbia. Completed in October 1982, the maiden flight took place in April 1983 ( STS -6). The internal name is OV- 099th
The Challenger was named after the British research vessel HMS Challenger, which from 1872 to 1876 sailed the world's oceans. Even the lunar module of Apollo 17 carried this name.
The manufacturer of the Space Shuttle, Rockwell International (now part of Boeing), had the contract to build first two orbiters, Enterprise and Challenger, received in February, 1972, that were not intended for use in space. Originally built as a test orbiter for the shuttle program, the Challenger was after its completion In May 1977, first for nearly a year as STA 099 - STA stands for Structural Test Article - used for vibration tests. From 1979, she was then subsequently expanded in place of Enterprise ( OV -101 ), the first Structural Test Article, were carried out with the dropping -off and landing tests to a full and spaceflight Space Shuttle enabled with the designation OV -99.
The Challenger completed nine full flights with a total of 987 orbits. She was a total of 69 days in space.
January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after the start of the mission STS -51 -L, the space shuttle broke apart in about 15 kilometers altitude (see Challenger disaster ). In this case, all seven astronauts died. As a reason, the failure of one or more seal rings was determined in one of the lateral solid rocket. It was the worst accident so far in the space history of the United States.
The discovered wreckage of the Challenger are embedded in a former missile silo at Launch Complex 31 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.