TABLE OF CONTENTS The New York Times Abstract:
Cape Canaveral, FL, January 28 The space shuttle Challenger exploded in a ball of fire shortly after it left the launching pad today, and all seven astronauts on board were lost. (Broad, 1986)
The concept of a completely reusable space shuttle was first discussed in the 1960s, before the Apollo lunar landing spacecraft had flown. Over time, to minimize cost, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) compromised on a reusable orbiter, an expendable external fuel tank carrying liquid propellants for the orbiters' engines, and two recoverable solid rocket boosters (Figure 5.1).
To provide for the broadest possible spectrum of civil and military missions, the shuttle was designed to deliver 65,000 lbs of payload to an easterly low-Earth orbit or 32,000 lbs to polar orbit. In early 1972, NASA estimated it would cost $6.2 billion to develop and test this three-part system. NASA awarded the contract for development of the orbiter and its main engines to Rockwell International Corporation, the contract for development of the external tank to Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace, and the contract for development of the solid rocket boosters to Morton Thiokol Corporation. Four space shuttle systems were built: the Columbia, the Discovery, the Atlantis, and the Challenger.
The orbiter is as large as a midsize...
