Challenge Explosion Videos - New ones i haven't seen before

Here are some new videos (at least ones i haven't seen before) of the Challenger explosion from various TV news crews. Apparently, they were recently released (within the last few years)

Warning: There is some language in these videos (disclaimer for youngsters)














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I question these. The poster has disallowed commentary and /or questions of the videos and if you look at the times, while it's hard to match to an actual countdown, the two are several seconds apart in their acknowledgement of an unusual event, while both are dependent on human reaction to their (or in one case, your) visual point of view, so distance should not be an issue. Both are posted by the same poster.

I'll be happy to acknowledge it if I'm wrong, but there's not enough new info here to justify hiding the footage for this long and there's enough discrepancy between the two cuts to make me question the validity of both.

I did a search on the videos to see if there was any discussion on hoaxes etc... regarding this videos, but couldn't find any.

The flight is obviously authentic, and the human reactions indeed seem authentic, plus i can't see any reason why one would fabricate these videos anyways, as they *don't* contain anything different than whats been seen before. Just different perspectives.

Plus, when I say "new", i merely mean i have never seen them. These could have been released 15 years ago for all i know.

In the second video the young lady appears to think at first the explosion is normal, like a stage separation, shortly thereafter she realizes something is wrong. I noticed this reaction from several people when it all happened.

Okay, okay, I know I've been there and done that (to death), but I was sincerely part of that, extended, mission crew - plus others prior to this incident (STS-41 thru 51). I was stationed at HQ Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) in Sunnyvale AFS (Blue Cube; now Onizuka AFS after Col. Onizuka who perished on the mission) as an Airman at the time of the incident and was the Crypto Telecommunications Specialist for this mission and for those preceeding. This is how I earned my Air Force Space Badge back in the '80s.

These videos bring back a flood of tragic memories from that day - at my position waiting for them to achieve orbit, so I could start the encryption of their communications (via 8 punch).

While I can't verify or deny their accuracy, to the best of my recollection these look valid. The gap in from what you hear in the 'call out' is that on shuttle missions/launches the person announcing isn't sitting looking out a window watching it go up - we're checking computers for a plethora of information.

On that day, there was a significant gap between the explosion before we realized what happened. From my vantage point back in California we were watching the vertical climb rate, and a few other things. When the explosion happened you'll still see the vertical climb, from there it took people a number of seconds to understand that something was wrong. Keep in mind we had so many successful missions that they were becoming all too common; remember there was a civilian teacher on board. So from the time of the explosion, up until we realized that the computers were indeed correct, and that things were going haywire took a few, if not a dozen or so, seconds. Yes, people were shouting, but that's not where our focus initially was.

This still remains a tragic day for me, and saw me PCSing (permanent change of station) from Sunnyvale AFS six months after that, to Korea, because of the halt to our STS missions and the need to downsize.

May they all rest in peace.

shrox said:

In the second video the young lady appears to think at first the explosion is normal, like a stage separation, shortly thereafter she realizes something is wrong. I noticed this reaction from several people when it all happened.

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The young lady is Barbara Morgan, who was Christa McAuliffe's backup for the mission and who became an astronaut in her own right and flew recently.

dcastle said:

The young lady is Barbara Morgan, who was Christa McAuliffe's backup for the mission and who became an astronaut in her own right and flew recently.

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At the angle from which she was viewing the launch (nearly vertical), it probably was not clear for a period of 10-20 seconds what had happened. Certainly Barbara Morgan, if she had a clear view of the launch, would have known what had happened.

I watched it live on CNN (the only network to carry it live) and I knew within 2-3 seconds what had happened. My parents and I were sitting at the table drinking coffee, when I blurted out, "Holy $#$#."

I knew within a couple seconds that this was not normal SRB separation, and I knew that if anything went wrong before SRB separation, the astronauts were basically done for.

One of the TV commentators started yammering stuff about parachutes and possible escape scenarios, but I knew he was full of it. If the SRB stack goes to pieces, and you don't see the orbiter emerge intact out of that debris cloud, it's all over.

My dad was a newspaper editor who wasn't supposed to go in to work until 5 p.m. Within 30 seconds of the accident, I told him, "You better call in to the office and see if they want you in early. You guys are going to have a long night tonight."

He got ahold of the morning editor, who said they didn't even have the TV on in the office, "but 30 seconds ago, our phones all lit up with people saying the shuttle blew up. Is that a big deal?"

"Hell yes it's a big deal," my dad said. "It's the biggest disaster in the history of space flight. Whatever you had planned for Page 1 is out the window. Now do you want me to come in early or not?"

He went in to work about 5 minutes later.

JStarStar said:

"... 30 seconds ago, our phones all lit up with people saying the shuttle blew up. Is that a big deal?"

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"Is that a big deal?" And this guy was the editor of a newspaper? Good grief.

The videos are real. The first looks like it was taken from somewhere near the runway. It's what they call an engineering video, used for photo documentation of the launch, not necessarily for broadcast on NASA TV. I was on the runway that morning, part of the runway convoy in case there was an RTLS abort.

Dcastle is correct, that is Barbara Morgan in the second video. She was at the VIP viewing stands which were at the KSC press site next to the turning basin and ET barge dock.

Yes I have seen those vidoes over the years. Interesting that in the, 'When we left Earth' series, Story Musgrave admits what we all have known for years:

Challenger Astronauts were alive until impact with the Atlantic Ocean.

NASA's spin back then was to make people think that the Astronauts died instantly during the initial explosion... WRONG. There actually were several explosions as the crew capsule and part of the payload bay section emerged together from the initial fireball intact. The RCS tanks were exploding around the nose section of the crew capsule, then aerodynamic drag tore the nose cone and the crew cabin apart.

The Crew capsule continued on an upward trajectory to about 69k feet. During this time, 3 of the Astronauts turned on their emergency oxygen supply (this is a MANUAL act, and takes conscious hands to accomplish). It then took 2.5 minutes for the capsule to fall from 69k feet down to the ocean surface. The Astronauts were then killed (broken necks) upon impact.

The entire failure was COMPLETELY preventable ... but NASA managers knew more than the Thiokol engineers who told them NOT to fly 12 hours earlier.

Another MISS-INFORMATION that NASA then spun was the Columbia loss. Almost immediately, former and current Astronauts were on the TV telling us that the Astronauts died instantly. They did this to save face and run DAMAGE CONTROL with the American public; why if Astronauts were suffering before they died, the Space Program might become de-funded...

Well the Astronauts aboard Columbia did suffer and suffered badly. You see a little secret that NASA would NOT like publicly known is that the shuttle maintained its integrity for over 60 seconds after the shuttle went out of control. It is painfully obvious in the video footage:

Go download a high quality video of the contrail over Texas. If you look closely, you will see a 'spiraling' contrail within the main grouping. That 'spiraling' contrail is Columbia after it's left wing separated from the vehicle and it continues for over 60 seconds until the vehicle starts to break apart completely.

You see, Gene Cernin was reading from a script when he was interviewed just hours after the disaster. I remember him saying that the Astronauts died immediately as one would do when crashing your car ... NOPE, wrong answer.

The Astronauts were aware that they were in trouble and Husband fought to regain control of Columbia but he couldn't ... the ship was doomed. The Astronauts were protected from the plasma until the cabin was breached.

One of two things happened:

1)Massive depressurization occurred and any Astronauts without helmet/gloves secured would have been asphyxiated instantly (they were still 40 miles up, no air to breath)

2)Their suits would have still continued to supply oxygen to the Astronauts as they would have watched as the hull of the capsule started to tear apart. Then as the capsule tore open, the Astronauts would then be exposed to the plasma of re-entry and die a swift but VERY painful death.

I believe that for the Astronauts in the flight deck, death came quickly from depressurization. As the capsule tore apart, debris would have shot around the cabin with the speed of bullets and punctured the suits which led to asphyxiation. Yes, the Astronauts were pelted with debris as if they were shot with a shotgun... NASA doesn't want you to know that!

For the Astronauts in the lower deck, their deaths would come more slowly as the cabin would provide a buffer between them and the plasma. They would have survived the longest and would see the floors and walls of the cabin 'burning' away.

The Columbia disaster isn't as much a surprise as Challenger... well sort of...

Back in the early 1980s, the Air Force had released a study on failure rates with Solid Propellant Boosters. They had concluded that the Shuttle would face a 1 in 30 failure rate with SPB/SRB and decided NOT to use the Space Shuttle as a 'space truck' into orbit. This was YEARS before Challenger in 1986! The Air Force deemed the vehicle too dangerous and costly for its DoD projects.

An interesting side note: NASA claims to have been oblivious to FoD hitting the orbiters but NASA was AWARE of ice/foam hitting the orbiter and causing damage from STS-1 going forward... well what could they do? They are locked into a bad design that is the result of budget constraints... why oh why are the SRB joint lips facing upward so that dirt, insects, water/ice can collect and work its way down into the joint ... One of hundreds of bad designs. Again, this is a result of budget restraints and NOT lack of American know-how.

So I hope I have shed some light onto 2 of our most dissasterous space tragedies. We need to keep an eye on NASA and its bad practices in order to keep VERY DUMB things from happening again.

V'Ger

One of two things happened:

1)Massive depressurization occurred and any Astronauts without helmet/gloves secured would have been asphyxiated instantly (they were still 40 miles up, no air to breath)

2)Their suits would have still continued to supply oxygen to the Astronauts as they would have watched as the hull of the capsule started to tear apart. Then as the capsule tore open, the Astronauts would then be exposed to the plasma of re-entry and die a swift but VERY painful death.

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I believe the explanation i've read was that they died instantly as when the wing tore off, it created such a drag on the orbiter, than the g-loading of this alone was enough to kill anyone inside, regardless if the orbiter stayed intact or not.

Necromancer said:

I believe the explanation i've read was that they died instantly as when the wing tore off, it created such a drag on the orbiter, than the g-loading of this alone was enough to kill anyone inside, regardless if the orbiter stayed intact or not.

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And that is what they want yo to believe

Don't believe your eyes, believe what the government tells you...

Funny, in the Kennedy Assassination film, you CLEARLY see Kennedy's front right head explode, and a piece of this rear skull fly BACKWARD onto the trunk of the car. Jackie, is seen reaching back and picking it up ... but don't believe your eyes, instead believe what the government tells us... Oswald was the ONLY gunman ...but wait, later in 1979, a government investigation concluded that there was infact more than one gun man ... ah who cares, as long as we have football, porn, beer and drugs, who cares... in the end its all about self gratification. Welcome to the new America

mmm mmm deutch land mmm mmm mmm deutch land ...

V'Ger - Why are people so gullible?

Someone sounds bitter.

V'ger said:

V'Ger - Why are people so gullible?

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So what would someone call us if we believed you or any of what you wrote? Your perspective is nothing more than an opinion. Your opinion along the way turned into your belief. Your belief is nothing more than an attempt to preach.

While I don't have a problem with your speculations as to what happened, I find it inconsiderate of you to come on here and preach your perspective as the truth. Lastly, there's no need to be calling anyone anything...especially on this forum.

V'ger said:

And that is what they want yo to believe

Don't believe your eyes, believe what the government tells you...

Funny, in the Kennedy Assassination film, you CLEARLY see Kennedy's front right head explode, and a piece of this rear skull fly BACKWARD onto the trunk of the car. Jackie, is seen reaching back and picking it up ... but don't believe your eyes, instead believe what the government tells us... Oswald was the ONLY gunman ...but wait, later in 1979, a government investigation concluded that there was infact more than one gun man ... ah who cares, as long as we have football, porn, beer and drugs, who cares... in the end its all about self gratification. Welcome to the new America

mmm mmm deutch land mmm mmm mmm deutch land ...

V'Ger - Why are people so gullible?

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You forgot to add rocketry to that list.

Necromancer said:

I believe the explanation i've read was that they died instantly as when the wing tore off, it created such a drag on the orbiter, than the g-loading of this alone was enough to kill anyone inside, regardless if the orbiter stayed intact or not.

Click to expand...

There is clear evidence that at least some of the crew survived the initial breakup, because some of the emergency air packs (PEAPs) were manually activated prior to water impact:

https://history.nasa.gov/kerwin.html

The ones who didn't get their PEAPs on might have lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen, but it wouldn't have been instantaneous.

V'ger said:

And that is what they want yo to believe

Don't believe your eyes, believe what the government tells you...
V'Ger - Why are people so gullible?

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Why is V'ger so curl and sadistic?
On what and where to You get your information? I've read several of your anti-G posts and frankly I'm not impressed.
Yet another disgruntled conspiracy nut. I'm surprised you didn't mention the Roswell incident as well...Good Grief!
The exact moment our heros die has little to do with the grief we collectively and individually feel toward them. Tho it may serve as a little comfort to those of us left behind to beleive rightly or wrongly their final moments were as Quick and painless as possible.
That's not being gullible that's being HUMAN!

Micromeister said:

Why is V'ger so curl and sadistic?
On what and where to You get your information? I've read several of your anti-G posts and frankly I'm not impressed.
Yet another disgruntled conspiracy nut. I'm surprised you didn't mention the Roswell incident as well...Good Grief!
The exact moment our heros die has little to do with the grief we collectively and individually feel toward them. Tho it may serve as a little comfort to those of us left behind to beleive rightly or wrongly their final moments were as Quick and painless as possible.
That's not being gullible that's being HUMAN!

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Well I get my information fro HISTORY. In the recorded record of mankind, Humans have subjugated and acted genocide upon MILLIONS of human beings. 10+ million Jews killed in Germany, 40 million Russians killed by Stalin... the list goes on. I just have to open a History Book and a LEARN all about man and his greatness,

Just because America won its freedom 200 years ago from the British, doesn't mean we will have freedom 200 years from now. All men, including current American men are frail. They sell out their nations for a baubble or a gold piece or for flesh.

No, America isn't for ever... we are no different than other men that have lived before us. The United States government is currently the most dangerous entity on planet Earth. We as citizens have to do are best to keep it in check ... oh but wait, they are sending out another round of 'economic stimulant checks' (placation money to keep the American citizens in check), so I guess government (U.S.A.) is the best!? Not!

V'Ger

Oh-k. I guess this thread ended prematurely.

I knew you were a NUT! Now everyone will also.