c'Highacres Colleg
VOL. 2 NO. 1
Challenger
On Tuesday, January. 28, 1986, the
United States space effort suffered a severe
setback. the loss of seven astronauts and the
space shuttle Challenger. This incident was
the worst manned space disaster in history.
About one and a half minutes after a
perfect liftoff, the Challenger exploded.
Millions of people nationwide, many of them
children, saw the- liftoff and ensuing
catastrophe broadcast live.
There is really no need to give the
details about the explosion itself, since
almost every American has seen it and because
no one is really sure what happened. However,
there are many questions that need to be
answered in the aftermath of thiS national
tragedy.
First of all, why? After twenty-four
successful launches, what caused this one to
go wrong?-Theeparemany.theories, OblUding a
massive faillire of the external fuel tank, a
malfunction of one (or more) of the shuttle's
three main engines, and a failure of one of
the SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters). These are
just a few of the proposed theories. The one
that seems most likely is a failure of an SRB.
It appears that a seam in one of the Solid
Rocket Boosters was not completely sealed.
During the flight, the solid fuel caught fire
at the opening and quidkly grew. The flame
worked as a blowtorch and burned through the
external fuel tank. This caused the hydrogen
and oxygen to burn and then explode.
Another question being asked regards
the fate of the manned space program. The
president has indicated that after a thorough
investigation, the shuttle program will
continue.
The question being asked the most is
Why the big deal? Many more U.S. Service men
(225 of them) were killed just before
Christmas, so what makes the death of seven
astronauts so much worse?
Simply, nothing. Nothing makes their
deaths Worse. All death is tragic and should
be dealt with in that light. Death shOUld not
- be glorified, but it shouldn't be brushed off,
either.
I am amazed at how quickly we Americans
forget. We seem to hop from , one tragedy to the
next. ThiS shouldn't be. With death comes
suffering, grief, and sorrow, and after death
comes rebuilding and rebirth, new life, new
hopes, and the continuation of old dreams.
We muspq- , let those seven astronauts
give their lives for nothing. We must press
on, answer old questions, and discover new
by Attila Akgun
ones with new answers. That is the unwritten
law of the land.
Shuttle facts:
1. The shuttle is valued at $1.2
billion.
2. Twenty-four successful missions were
flown before the Challenger disaster.
3. The program has been plagued with
structural and technical problems.
4. The accident occurred nineteen years
and one day after the death of Grizom, White,
and Chaffe, in a Eire aboard the Apollo I.
5. At launch there are four main parts
to the shuttle: the spacecraft itself, two
SRi3s, and the external fuel tank. The fuel
tank is the only part that is disposable.
6. There were sixteen scheduled flights
this year.
7. There are three launch sites. Two
are run by NASA in Florida, and the other is
run by the United States Air Force (USAF).
8. Astronauts acknowledge and have
adknoWledged the chance , of a catastrophe all
along.
9. NASA is now hoping for a flight in.
June.
Pena State Hazleton Campus Foreign Film
Festival Opens
by Paula Callery, PubiLe Relations
(Pennsylvania State University Hazleton
The Pena State Hazleton Campus Foreign
Film Festival opened on February 4. Showings
are Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. in the Library
Highacres Room. Admission is free and is open
to the public as well as to students, faculty,
and staff of the Hazleton Campus.
Films are scheduled as follows:
02/25/86 The Lavender Hill Mob -
an English comedy:with a plot that involves a
bank robbery and much intrigue, starring Alec
Guinness (78Ainutes - black and white)
. 03/11186 Wild Strawberries -
written and directed by a professor struggling
with his advancing age, starring Max von
Sydow. English subtitles (90 minutes - black
and white)
•
Hazleton Campus
I Penn State University
Film
Campus
FEB. 24, 1986