The risky decision to launch not only claimed the lives of the Challenger crew members but also grounded the shuttle fleet for nearly three years. But the space agency was under intense pressure from Congress and the military to maintain unreasonably ambitious flight schedules. Cape Canaveral, Fla., experienced freezing temperatures that winter morning, while on prior launches it had never been colder than 53 degrees.Įngineers warned NASA about this critical, weather-related issue. But what was the cause? What was different about this launch compared to all the previous missions?Ī call to the National Weather Service provided the answer. Flame was a symptom of the failure, Feynman realized. That theory proved false, however, when telemetry data indicated the engines fired perfectly during the 73 seconds prior to the deadly blast.Ī breakthrough came when NASA released photos showing a plume of flame spurting from the side of a solid rocket booster. But as Feynman said, if no one was allowed to determine the explosion’s cause, everyone would lose their job.Īt first, Feynman believed the main shuttle engines were at fault, after discovering cracks in turbine blades and witnessing extreme vibrations during a test firing. Most of the managers and engineers he encountered were closemouthed, worried about their careers. “An explanation can be found,” Feynman asserted before beginning an independent probe. The scientist known for his unruly gray hair, nerdy glasses and keen intellect refused to accept the notion that the explosion’s cause would never be determined, even though the shuttle was one of the most complex machines ever built and many of its 2.5 million parts were submerged in the Atlantic Ocean. Although weakened by cancer, the outspoken Feynman fully committed to the investigation after arriving in Washington eight days after the ill-fated launch.
#Challenger space shuttle disaster o ring movie
The movie shows that Feynman reluctantly joined the presidential commission after being recruited by Graham. “Shakespeare wasn’t less of a playwright because he didn’t get all the history correct.” “It was a little bit like Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar.’ That’s not to be critical,” Graham said. “I would call it a drama based on the people and events surrounding the Challenger disaster,” he said, rather than an attempt to convey exactly what happened. In terms of certain factual matters, however, the movie takes artistic license. “I think they captured their relationships very well,” said Graham, who’s portrayed in the film by Nicholas Pauling. Tell them everything you know.’”Īs for the Science Channel movie, Graham said the filmmakers did an admirable job of portraying key characters such as Feynman, Rogers and Kutyna. What I told the NASA staff was: ‘Tell the truth, don’t speculate. “It was just terrible, but we had to keep going.
“The Challenger was the worst single event I’ve lived through,” Graham said. Graham, who had been at his post for less than two months at the time of the disaster, said he had been assured by “a whole cadre of professionals” that the shuttle would launch successfully, just as it had done two dozen times before. One is NASA’s acting administrator at the time of the disaster, William Robert Graham. The movie has already been screened by some who figured prominently in events. Donald Kutyna, who subtly guides Feynman’s inquiries with the goal of protecting current and future astronauts from harm. Weiss and Eve Best (“Nurse Jackie”) as America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride.Ĭanadian actor Bruce Greenwood (“Star Trek Into Darkness”) portrays Air Force Gen. Rogers, appointed by President Reagan to lead the high-profile commission that investigated the explosion.Īlso, British actors take on many of the other roles, including Joanne Whalley (“The Borgias”) as Feynman’s supportive wife, Gweneth Kevin McNally (“Downton Abbey”) as Lawrence Mulloy, a heavily criticized NASA official Henry Goodman (“Yes, Prime Minister”) as Feynman’s oncologist, Dr. The film also features Brian Dennehy (“The Good Wife”) as former U.S. The genius of Feynman and the magnitude of the Challenger explosion “are united in this particular project,” Hurt said. “The Challenger Disaster” combines Feynman’s fascinating story, Hurt pointed out, with a tragedy that wounded America’s psyche by underscoring the dangers of space travel and the fragility of human existence.
“There are remarkable people alive today, but I don’t think they’re being allowed to compete with fatuous, attention-grabbing personalities,” he added, referring to the glut of low-brow entertainment in popular culture. “We don’t see Richard Feynmans anymore, but they’re there,” Hurt said.
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