Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

On April 12, 1981, astronauts Bob Crippen and John Young prepared for the launch of the space shuttle’s two-day test flight. At seven o’clock in the morning, the booster rockets fired, and the launch was underway. Far away from the launch center in Florida, an enormous team of NASA personnel monitored every aspect of the launch in Houston. When, two minutes into the flight, the rocket boosters fell away as planned, shuttle designer Max Faget let out a cheer. Everyone else remained cautious: Many additional parts had never been flight tested, only tested via models.

Two hours later, Crippen and Young discovered damage to some of the heat-protecting tiles. Faget was confident that the location of the damage did not pose a problem, as it was far enough away from the fuselage. NASA was granted permission to use top-secret government telescopes positioned in Hawaii, California, and Florida to photograph the shuttle in order to better determine the exact extent of the damage. This gleaned no usable photographs, however, and a spy satellite was then used. Its photos showed no signs of serious damage, and the shuttle was deemed able to safely return to Earth.

Two days later, Crippen and Young prepared to return to Earth.