5 Disturbing Facts about the Challenger Mission

On the 28^th of January, NASA commemorated 30 years since the Challenger mission failure led to the death of all the seven crew members present on board of the spacecraft at the time. But there are some people who think NASA owes additional explanations on the incident. Here are 5 disturbing facts about the Challenger missions that have been brought up by skeptics throughout the years.

Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to make it to space; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; Judith A. Resnik mission specialist and astronaut; Francis (Dick) R. Scobee mission specialist and commander of the Challenger; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist, and Mike J. Smith, mission pilot were the seven people on board the spacecraft Challenger when it exploded roughly a minute after being launched.

NASA Was Pressured to Launch the Challenger Before It Was Ready

Many people thought that the National Aeronautics and Space Agency was forced by politicians to launch the Challenger shuttle before it was truly ready for deployment. The general American public believed that outside political and economic pressure is what killed the members of the crew.

The Launch Was Not Broadcasted Live Like All the Others

Almost twenty years after the live broadcast of the moon landing, NASA made the Challenger launch available only for those who had access to a satellite dish. Skeptics say that the “re-run” that was broadcasted on television was a way in which NASA tried to “wipe out all the evidence”.

The Booster Rockets Were Not that Dangerous

Many have thought that the booster rockets that were mounted on both sides of the spacecraft were, in fact, not that dangerous. There have been a few conspiracy theories built around the idea that, when properly operated, the booster rockets could not endanger the life of the crew. The conspiracy theory believers thought that the boosters were meddled with by a saboteur.

An Explosion Is Too Much of a Wide Term

There were adepts of a conspiracy theory that firmly believed that NASA’s report of the Challenger explosion was used improperly by the space agency. It seems that those who were present at the launch that day did not hear the distinct sound of an explosion, but rather a noise made by the tearing of the engines. This fueled conspiracy believers to think that the engines were tampered with.

The Crew Didn’t Die Instantly

It seems that the people thought the seven members were spared of the seventy-three seconds of fear and panic and they died instantly. A later analysis made by NASA established that they were alive the entire flight and right up until the explosion occurred.

The Challenger explosion was a disaster that affected both America and NASA. These conspiracy theories may have started as just another way of coping with the terrible death of the seven crew members. But these 5 disturbing facts about the Challenger mission were disproved by NASA and independent third party scientists that proved they were nonsense.

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