eighth nasa space shuttle mission flight space shuttle challenger launched august landed september conducting night launch night landing program carried african american astronaut mission successfully achieved planned research objectives marred subsequent discovery solid fuel rocket launch mission primary indian communications weather observation satellite released boosted orbit secondary replacing delayed nasa communications satellite metric ton dummy intended test use shuttle remote system scientific experiments carried onboard challenger included environmental testing new hardware materials designed future spacecraft study biological materials electric fields research space adaptation syndrome known space sickness flight furthermore served testing previously launched satellite required support subsequent mission crew mission crew mission specialists second mission fly crew largest carried single spacecraft date crew historically notable participation guy african american fly space commander truly veteran astronaut crew having flown pilot approach landing tests aboard enterprise prior worked capsule missions apollo mission recruited training mission mission originally planned crew added crew mission specialist december months crew originally named truly apollo era recruit having joined nasa participation mission included series tests aimed gathering information changes linked commonly known space sickness focus attention nasa succumbed shuttle missions carried use case emergency needed truly mission plan early plan released april scheduled july expected day mission crew members launch indian satellite nasa communications relay satellite following problems deploy mission announced going flown replaced manifest development eventually manifested mission lost space shuttle challenger crew launch failed january primary element mission second series multi purpose weather communications satellites operated launched delta rocket april shut shortly failure onboard reaction control system satellite carried rear shuttle bay boosted transfer orbit small solid rocket upper stage release satellite upper stage total cradle cost million flight test article scheduled launch june april manifest brought forward month missions delayed brought forward fill hole manifest aluminum structure resembling wheels meter long central axle lead total mass lifted remote system shuttle robot arm moved help gain experience system stored bay carried development flight instrumentation forward bay previously flown columbia carry test equipment outfitted flight instrumentation mount experiments studied interaction ambient atomic oxygen structural materials second tested performance heat pipe designed use heat rejection systems future spacecraft special carried studied effects cosmic rays electronic equipment second studied effect gas environment absorption measurements precursor equipment designed sponsored japanese newspaper tried use water tanks create snow crystals second attempt experiment flown redesigned water tanks solid similar experiment flown studied ambient levels atomic oxygen measuring rates small carbon finally cooperation mission carried postal covers express postage stamps sold collectors profits divided nasa storage boxes attached stored special number experiments performed inside crew compartment flown fourth time separated solutions biological materials passing electric fields experiment aimed supporting research diabetes treatments small animal cage flown containing rats animal experiment carried flight student involvement project planned later mission use cage nasa wanted ensure flight tested student involvement project carried involved techniques try determine worked photography experiment attempt study spectrum atmospheric glow reported determine interacted reaction control system mission scheduled carry series tests satellite deployed ensure system fully operational support program upcoming flight furthermore carried equipment allow tested use future classified missions support crew connor ascent crew seating arrangements mission summary launch preparations preparation mission began june assembly shuttle solid rocket mobile platform stacked june external tank assembly june challenger arrived kennedy space center june transferred june post flight maintenance preparation new mission including installation flight shuttle transferred july tank stack stack checked july moved august loaded pad overall processing time challenger arriving ready launch days record program time launch originally scheduled august later rescheduled august requirement conduct testing system required delay days system ready stack remained launch pad pad delay hit florida coastline making landfall south kennedy space center morning august storm identified days earlier time roll challenger pad decision secure launch stack ride storm launch challenger finally launched utc august final minute delay thunderstorms near launch site launch window extended countdown launch called public information officer launch occurred pre dawn darkness american night launch apollo watched thousand spectators unusual launching time tracking requirements primary program night launch crew attempted prepare training night vision practice discovered light solid fuel rocket immediate area virtually bright day launch launch use newly developed high performance motor solid rocket gave approximately greater thrust second use original standard mass steel replaced thinner case saving kilograms safety concerns flights conventional cases operations successful circular orbit kilometers nmi experiments began samples run measurements taken atmospheric study hydraulic circulation pump failed worked proved impact operations major event second day august successful deployment satellite took place utc challenger maneuvering avoid firing motor minutes later experimentation continued lost hours requiring manual intervention fire alarm sounded morning indicating signs fire compartment second alarm remained silent eventually determined false alarm fourth days september work began test article communications testing continued successful lost contact number occasions problems white sands ground station result crew awakened early september order deal problem minor cabin pressure leak september traced waste management system quickly controlled performed maneuvering system firing september place lower orbit air density higher oxygen interaction experiments work effectively fifth day september testing continued including number optional shopping list tests tests carried success live press conference held late day flight press conference apollo sixth day september experiment runs completed crew prepared systems failures recorded day involved failure onboard computers orbit challenger number altitude attitude adjustments order test behavior shuttle perform experiments different thermal conditions exposing areas sun unusual way possible induce particularly warm cold conditions observe resulting problems landing mission plan called landing edwards air force base california mission time original plan utc september accounting minute launch delay event day allow communications testing challenger touched utc september runway edwards morning seventh day mission launch night landing program shuttle board lights difficulty designing landing lights survive entry runway lit high intensity arc lamps guide pressing operational requirement night landing desire prove possible footage landing shown film post flight safety analysis launch carried obvious september post flight inspection solid rocket severe discovered left hand inch lining protecting rocket designed half thickness firing found burned little millimetres places left seconds firing time situation resulted loss control probable break spacecraft later determined fault particular batch set burn problem treated small media receive significant interest challenger disaster major contemporary public criticism came nasa soviet counterparts result incident flight delayed month changed post flight inspection thermal protection system tiles found seven major debris impacts minor impacts respectively underside lowest major tile damage compares favorably program average major impacts underside shuttle flight significant problems reported thermal protection system windows removed pitting total thirty flight eventually reported issues minor problems ranged faulty unusually high dust cabin scientific results overall crew successfully completed planned mission test objectives deployment success satellite problems solar array orbit fully operational middle september functional provided satisfactory service seven years returning images earth broadcasting television thousands remote indian villages flight test article evaluation found remote system capable moving masses accuracy precision degree alignment program overall successful satellite suffering computer failures overall loss hours able use satellite planned successful use connection equipment functioned planned processing times material possible earth crystal experiment flown second time able produce snow crystals redesigned research space adaptation sickness noted escaped severe cases suffering loss motor control suffered mild case able manage effectively suffered induced motion sickness training operations entirely unaffected symptoms found days launch wake calls nasa began tradition playing music program music wake flight crew apollo track specially chosen families usually special meaning individual member crew applicable daily activities
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