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The history of the ships named Challenger is a long and winding road that runs through the history of science and exploration itself.
The Challenger Expedition claims the title of the world's first totally scientific oceanographic expedition By the time the HMS Challenger left the dock on December 21, 1872, the world was experiencing an intellectual and technological revolution of sorts. Except for the poles, few places remained to be conquered by man. And in a time when knowledge began to be equated with power, the British government was amenable to schemes for acquiring knowledge.
With a rising tide of intellectual fervor behind him, Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, a natural history professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and his Canadian-born student, John Murray (later, Sir John Murray) hatched a scheme to explore the oceans in the grandest oceanographic mission ever conceived. They called their proposal "oceanography" and pleaded their case before the Royal Navy and the Royal Society to send a ship around the world for one purpose: to study the oceans.
With the agreement that a portion of any profits from the trip would go to the government, Thomson and Murray secured a ship from the Royal Navy.
The vessel was a three-masted square-rigged wooden ship of 2300 tons displacement and some 200 feet [226 feet] overall. She was essentially a sailing ship though possessing an engine of 1200 horsepower. It was planned that the ship would be under sail for most of the cruise, using the engine primarily for maneuvering when conducting scientific observations and deploying heavy gear. All but two of the ship's 17 guns had been removed to make way for purpose-built scientific laboratories and workrooms designed specifically for biological, chemical and physical work. Storage space for all the trawls and dredges was also necessary, together with space for the anticipated sample collection.
The expedition's mission, by and large, was quite simple: to gather detailed and consistent observations of various oceanographic phenomena across as much of the ocean as possible. The sampling plan devised by Thomson and Murray resembles the sampling plan of modern day oceanographic expeditions; an assortment of physical, chemical, geological and biological measurements stretched over the day(s) at regular intervals across the sea. Samples that weren't analyzed on board were stored for laboratory analysis at the end of the expedition, a task that required the labors of more than 100 scientists.
Over the course of their voyage, the ship "stopped" and collected data and samples at 362 stations "at intervals as nearly uniform as possible". This systematic sampling plan belies one of the fundamental limitations of oceanographic research: gathering data over huge expanses that is representative of the ocean as a whole.
Listing the highlights and accomplishments of the Challenger Expedition are sort of like trying to list Michael Jordan's achievements in one sentence. Where do you start? The work of the 100+ scientists involved in the project occupied 50 volumes--29,500 pages--each volume as "thick as a family Bible", an accomplishment that took 23 years to complete.
That volume of knowledge notwithstanding, there are key discoveries reported by the expedition that deserve our attention. As reported, the major findings of the Challenger Expedition include:
The HMS Challenger began a tradition of scientific exploration that continued on, into the 20th century...
One hundred years later, the last of the Apollo missions headed for the moon.
The Apollo 17 Lunar Module (LM) "Challenger" was the sixth and last lunar lander in the Apollo program. It carried two astronauts, Commander Eugene A. Cernan and LM pilot Harrison H. Schmitt, the eleventh and twelfth men to walk on the Moon. Schmitt was the first scientist-astronaut to walk on the Moon. The LM also carried a Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), an Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) that contained scientific experiments to be deployed and left on the lunar surface, and other scientific and sample collection apparatus.
The LM separated from the Command/Service Module (CSM) at 17:20:56 UT on 11 December 1972 and landed at 19:54:57 UT (2:54:57 p.m. EST) on the southeastern rim of Mare Serenitatis (the Sea of Serenity) in a dark deposit between massive units of the southwestern Taurus Mountains south of Littrow Crater, at 20.1908 N latitude, 30.7717 E longitude (IAU Mean Earth Polar Axis coordinate system). Cernan and Schmitt made three moonwalk extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) totaling 22 hours, 4 minutes. During this time they covered 30 km and collected 110.5 kg of lunar samples. The LRV was used during EVAs to extend the range of manned lunar exploration. The first EVA was from 23:54:49 UT on 11 December to 07:06:42 UT on 12 December, during which the LRV was deployed and driven and the ALSEP was set up. During the second EVA, which began at 23:28:06 UT on 12 December and ended at 07:05:02 UT on 13 December, the astronauts deployed explosive packages for the active seismic experiment and Schmitt discovered a patch of orange soil. The third EVA involved more traverses and sample collection and lasted from 22:25:48 UT on 13 December to 05:40:56 UT on 14 December. At the end of the final EVA the astronauts unveiled the plaque on the LM and read it on TV, "Here man completed his first exploration of the Moon, December 1972 A.D. May the spirit of peace in which he came be reflected in the lives of all mankind." The EVA ended with Gene Cernan taking the final step off the lunar surface. During these EVAs the astronauts set up the ALSEP and performed other scientific experiments. The LM lifted off from the Moon on 14 December at 22:54:37 UT after 75 hours on the lunar surface. The LM docked with the CSM (piloted by Ronald E. Evans) at 01:10:15 UT on 15 December. At 04:51:31 UT on 15 December 1972 the LM was jettisoned from the CM and later fired into the Moon. It struck at 06:50:21 UT at 19.96 N, 30.50 E.
The life of the second Challenger ended almost 100 years to the day of the launch of it's predecessor.
In the late 20th century, curious scientists turned the eyes of one of the many Lunar Explorers, to the landing site of the Challenger and found the remains of the
lander.
Then, the view of the universe both through science and through tragedy was to change...
Challenger, the second orbiter to become operational at Kennedy Space Center, was named after the British Naval research vessel HMS Challenger that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870's. The Apollo 17 lunar module also carried the name of Challenger. Like her historic predecessors, Space Shuttle Challenger and her crews made significant contributions to America's scientific growth.
Challenger joined NASA fleet of reusable winged spaceships in July 1982. It flew nine successful Space Shuttle missions. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger and its seven-member crew were lost 73 seconds after launch when a booster failure resulted in the breakup of the vehicle.
Challenger started out as a high-fidelity structural test article (STA-099). The airframe was completed by Rockwell and delivered to Lockheed Plant 42 for structural testing on 02/04/78. The orbiter structure had evolved under such weight-saving pressure that virtually all components of the air frame were required to handle significant structural stress. With such an optimized design, it was difficult to acurately predict mechanical and thermal loading with the computer software available at the time. The only safe approach was to submit the structural test article to intensive testing and analysis. STA-099 underwent 11 months of intensive vibration testing in a 43 ton steel rig built especially for the Space Shuttle Test Program. The rig consisted of 256 hydraulic jacks, distributed over 836 load application points. Under computer control, it was possible to simulate the expected stress levels of launch, ascent, on-orbit, reentry and landing. Three 1 million pound-force hydraulic cylinders were used to simulate the thrust from the Space Shuttle Main Engines. Heating and thermal simulations were also done.
Rockwell's original $2.6 billion contract had authorized the building of a pair of static-test articles (MPTA-098 and STA-099 and two initial flight-test vehicles (OV-101 and OV-102. A decision in 1978 not to modify Enterprise from her Approach and Landing Test (ALT) configuration would have left Columbia as the only operational orbiter vehicle so on 1/29/79 NASA awarded Rockwell a supplemental contract to convert Challenger (STA-099) from a test vehicle into a space-rated Orbiter (OV-099).
STA-099 was returned to Rockwell on 11/7/79 and it's conversion into a fully rated Orbiter Vehicle was started. This conversion, while easier than it would have been to convert Enterprise, still involved a major disassembly of the vehicle. Challenger had been built with a simulated crew module and the forward fuselage halves had to be separated to gain access to the crew module. Additionally, the wings were modified and reinforced to incorporate the results of structural testing and two heads-up displays (HUD's) were installed in the cockpit. Empty Weight was 155,400 lbs at rollout and 175,111 lbs with main engines installed. This was about 2,889 pounds lighter than Columbia.
Two orbiters, Challenger and Discovery, were modified at KSC to enable them to carry the Centaur upper stage in the payload bay. These modifications included extra plumbing to load and vent Centaur's cryogenic (L02/LH2) propellants (other IUS/PAM upper stages use solid propellants), and controls on the aft flight deck for loading and monitoring the Centaur stage. No Centaur flight was ever flown and after the loss of Challenger it was decided that the risk was too great to launch a shuttle with a fueled Centaur upper stage in the payload bay.
Challenger Flight Log:
Then, on the morning of January 28, 1986, the face of American and the world's space program changed forever.
January 28, 1986,11:38:00 a.m. EST. First Shuttle liftoff scheduled from Pad B. Launch set for 3:43 p.m. EST, Jan. 22, slipped to Jan. 23, then Jan. 24, due to delays in mission 61-C. Launch reset for Jan. 25 because of bad weather at transoceanic abort landing (TAL) site in Dakar, Senegal. To utilize Casablanca (not equipped for night landings) as alternate TAL site, T-zero moved to morning liftoff time. Launch postponed a day when launch processing unable to meet new morning liftoff time. Prediction of unacceptable weather at KSC led to launch rescheduled for 9:37 a.m. EST, Jan. 27. Launch delayed 24 hours again when ground servicing equipment hatch closing fixture could not be removed from orbiter hatch. Fixture sawed off and attaching bolt drilled out before closeout completed. During delay, cross winds exceeded return-to-launch-site limits at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. Launch Jan. 28 delayed two hours when hardware interface module in launch processing system, which monitors fire detection system, failed during liquid hydrogen tanking procedures.
Just after liftoff at .678 seconds into the flight, photographic data show a strong puff of gray smoke was spurting from the vicinity of the aft field joint on the right Solid Rocket Booster. Computer graphic analysis of film from pad cameras indicated the initial smoke came from the 270 to 310-degree sector of the circumference of the aft field joint of the right Solid Rocket Booster. This area of the solid booster faces the External Tank. The vaporized material streaming from the joint indicated there was not complete sealing action within the joint. Eight more distinctive puffs of increasingly blacker smoke were recorded between .836 and 2.500 seconds. The smoke appeared to puff upwards from the joint. While each smoke puff was being left behind by the upward flight of the Shuttle, the next fresh puff could be seen near the level of the joint. The multiple smoke puffs in this sequence occurred at about four times per second, approximating the frequency of the structural load dynamics and resultant joint flexing. As the Shuttle increased its upward velocity, it flew past the emerging and expanding smoke puffs. The last smoke was seen above the field joint at 2.733 seconds.
The black color and dense composition of the smoke puffs suggest that the grease, joint insulation and rubber O-rings in the joint seal were being burned and eroded by the hot propellant gases.
At approximately 37 seconds, Challenger encountered the first of several high-altitude wind shear conditions, which lasted until about 64 seconds. The wind shear created forces on the vehicle with relatively large fluctuations. These were immediately sensed and countered by the guidance, navigation and control system. The steering system (thrust vector control) of the Solid Rocket Booster responded to all commands and wind shear effects. The wind shear caused the steering system to be more active than on any previous flight.
Both the Shuttle main engines and the solid rockets operated at reduced thrust approaching and passing through the area of maximum dynamic pressure of 720 pounds per square foot. Main engines had been throttled up to 104 percent thrust and the Solid Rocket Boosters were increasing their thrust when the first flickering flame appeared on the right Solid Rocket Booster in the area of the aft field joint. This first very small flame was detected on image enhanced film at 58.788 seconds into the flight. It appeared to originate at about 305 degrees around the booster circumference at or near the aft field joint.
One film frame later from the same camera, the flame was visible without image enhancement. It grew into a continuous, well-defined plume at 59.262 seconds. At about the same time (60 seconds), telemetry showed a pressure differential between the chamber pressures in the right and left boosters. The right booster chamber pressure was lower, confirming the growing leak in the area of the field joint. As the flame plume increased in size, it was deflected rearward by the aerodynamic slipstream and circumferentially by the protruding structure of the upper ring attaching the booster to the External Tank. These deflections directed the flame plume onto the surface of the External Tank. This sequence of flame spreading is confirmed by analysis of the recovered wreckage. The growing flame also impinged on the strut attaching the Solid Rocket Booster to the External Tank.
The first visual indication that swirling flame from the right Solid Rocket Booster breached the External Tank was at 64.660 seconds when there was an abrupt change in the shape and color of the plume. This indicated that it was mixing with leaking hydrogen from the External Tank. Telemetered changes in the hydrogen tank pressurization confirmed the leak. Within 45 milliseconds of the breach of the External Tank, a bright sustained glow developed on the black-tiled underside of the Challenger between it and the External Tank.
Beginning at about 72 seconds, a series of events occurred extremely rapidly that terminated the flight. Telemetered data indicate a wide variety of flight system actions that support the visual evidence of the photos as the Shuttle struggled futilely against the forces that were destroying it. At about 72.20 seconds the lower strut linking the Solid Rocket Booster and the External Tank was severed or pulled away from the weakened hydrogen tank permitting the right Solid Rocket Booster to rotate around the upper attachment strut. This rotation is indicated by divergent yaw and pitch rates between the left and right Solid Rocket Boosters.
At 73.124 seconds,. a circumferential white vapor pattern was observed blooming from the side of the External Tank bottom dome. This was the beginning of the structural failure of hydrogen tank that culminated in the entire aft dome dropping away. This released massive amounts of liquid hydrogen from the tank and created a sudden forward thrust of about 2.8 million pounds, pushing the hydrogen tank upward into the intertank structure. At about the same time, the rotating right Solid Rocket Booster impacted the intertank structure and the lower part of the liquid oxygen tank. These structures failed at 73.137 seconds as evidenced by the white vapors appearing in the intertank region. Within milliseconds there was massive, almost explosive, burning of the hydrogen streaming from the failed tank bottom and liquid oxygen breach in the area of the intertank.
At this point in its trajectory, while traveling at a Mach number of 1.92 at an altitude of 46,000 feet, the Challenger was totally enveloped in the explosive burn. The Challenger's reaction control system ruptured and a hypergolic burn of its propellants occurred as it exited the oxygen-hydrogen flames. The reddish brown colors of the hypergolic fuel burn are visible on the edge of the main fireball. The Orbiter, under severe aerodynamic loads, broke into several large sections which emerged from the fireball. Separate sections that can be identified on film include the main engine/tail section with the engines still burning, one wing of the Orbiter, and the forward fuselage trailing a mass of umbilical lines pulled loose from the payload bay.
The Explosion 73 seconds after liftoff claimed crew and vehicle. Cause of explosion was determined to be an O-ring failure in right SRB. Cold weather was a contributing factor.
Launch Weight: 268,829 lbs.
Challenger had exploded. NASA was to put a halt to the shuttle program for a while, and the world mourned. 7 astronauts gave their lives in the name of science and exploration.
The name Challenger lay dormant, as the planet Earth went through many changes and upheavals. Then, the future seemed not too far off...
By 2140, the Andorian colonies were building starships of their own and expanding their interstellar community rapidly. They settled into a happy pattern of very gradual exploration and very vigorous trade along established routes. In 2144, though, the larger interstellar community came knocking an Andoria's front door. The U.S.S. Challenger, a vessel representing the United Earth Space Probe Agency, encountered an Andorian ship, the Ushos performing repairs at a mercantile waystation near Lambda Centauri.
The Ushos was, perhaps understandably, concerned and apprehensive when the UESPA vessel appeared from the folds of warp space. Accustomed to regular trouble from pirates and other rabble near the populated ends of the trade route, the Ushos assumed that this small but clearly armed vessel was something similar, and a brief exchange of shots from both sides marked First Contact between humans and Andorians.
Fortunately for all involved, the risk exercise in targeting didn't develop into a real fight, and quick thinking salvaged the situation. The captains of both vessels weren't in the mood to fight, and although there were language difficulties at first - the visual component of their hailing signals made it plain that neither was seeking war. When the Andorians learned that the name of the ship they had encountered was Challenger, they were delighted. Clearly, they had encountered a species with valor and spirit, who would carry weapons to the stars and yet have the restraint to open channels of communication with a fellow group of noble warriors!
News of the contact with humans spread quickly back to the homeworld, along with the first of many diplomatic messages that would lead quickly to new trade agreements and technological exchanges. By 2149, Andorians had visited both Earth and Alpha Centauri aboard the more advanced human vessels, and a friendship began that would, over the years to follow into a very significant alliance, indeed.
After the first contact, the name Challenger grew once more, and even gave birth to it's own newer legends.
Far from the reaches of the Federation, the Starship Enterprise has been guiding the development of a once obscure colony planet upon whose fate the future of the galaxy may now depend. The Enterprise has been the sole representative of the Federation, fighting a constant battle to protect the colonists from enemy aliens and standing alone against all those who have their own designs on the colony world.
But all adventures come to an end. It is time for Captain Kirk and the Enterprise to turn over the guardianship of the colony to another ship and crew. The new ship arrives in the midst of a deadly attack on the colony - and is destroyed. With the Enterprise off fighting a new and powerful enemy that threatens the colony as well as its enemies, Commander Nick Keller, first officer and ranking survivor of the decimated crew, is marooned and at first alone - but he must find a way to complete his original mission and come to the aid of the Enterprise in what might be its most desperate hour.
This Challenger stayed in that far off colony, protecting it from any intruders and studying the area around it.
To tell the history of the Intrepid class Starship Challenger is to tell a story that is both confusing and bemusing at the same time. Filled with some tragedy, the story begins with Captain Christopher Solo assuming command in 2367.
Within a year, he died in the line of duty, attempting to slingshot around Earth's sun to return to the correct year. The ship took much damage, killing many crew and wounding the Chief Science Officer.
Soon after, a Vulcan named P'errault was given command of the intrepid Intrepid class starship. They had many adventures, too convoluted and difficult to explain in short terms. Time travel, alternate dimensions... soon everything strange seemed normal to the crew.
Then, suddenly, something happened. Typical day for the crew of the Challenger. In a classified incident, the ship was destroyed and many of her crew were lost or dead.
After a short shore leave and grief counselling, many of the crew who survived moved on or awaited assignment to P'errault's new ship. To most everyone's surprise, it was a recently commissioned Akira class cruiser. There, with some old friends, some new faces and a new ship, she and her crew follow once more the statement made by Sir John Murray over 500 years earlier, they patrol the sector and inspire hope and courage in the people that they meet.