The Challenger Disaster

Tonight's space shuttle Challenger on launch pad 39B,

as the mammoth spacecraft...

The countdown continues for tomorrow's launch

of the Space Shuttle Challenger, with its crew of seven

including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

But a cloudy and...

As NASA ground crews prepare the ship...

...officials believe it will be a go...

The Challenger mission L51 has been...

The 51L mission, ready to go.

At seven o'clock, the Challenger crew met

for their traditional pre-flight breakfast...

Ladies and gentlemen of the faculty, students, quiet, please.

Please welcome our esteemed guest lecturer,

winner of the Einstein Award,

one of the ten most significant physicists of all time,

winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Dr Richard Feynman.

I bribed him to say all that nice stuff,

clearly I just escaped from jail.

Energy, from potential to kinetic,

gives you...

You see that?

No, don't write it down.

Not till you know what it means.

This will not hurt you.

It might hurt me.

Why didn't I have you write down the equation?

You'd write it out.

La-di-la-di-la, you'd feel pretty smart, right?

But now you understand it.

Mom! Hurry Up! I'm coming.

...about three minutes, and they think they can do it.

They are counting, the ice is cleared away,

and Challenger should be going away very soon.

Let's go down to the Kennedy Space Center

and take a look at Challenger sitting on the pad

as they continue the countdown.

Challenger's launch will be the 25th space shuttle mission.

It's estimated over 30,000 people have been involved...

Dale, you want some coffee? Not now, Larry.

...at a total cost of nearly 40 million...

There goes Christa McAuliffe, first teacher in space.

During the mission, McAuliffe will be conducting scientific experiments

which will be beamed live to children

in schoolrooms across America.

The New Hampshire teacher has described Challenger

as the ultimate field trip.

What is science?

Science is a way to teach how...

some thing gets to be known.

In as much as anything can be known.

Because nothing is known absolutely.

It's how to handle doubt

and uncertainty.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...

we have main engine start.

Four, three, two, one...

Lift-off of the 25th space shuttle mission,

and it has cleared the tower.

Yay!

Roger roll, Challenger.

Challenger, go with throttle.

Science teaches us what the rules of evidence are.

We mess with that at our peril.

One minute, 15 seconds.

We'll report more as we have information available.

Checking with the recovery forces.

Obviously a major malfunction.

We have no downlink.

The space agency NASA has not yet confirmed the deaths

of the schoolteacher and six other astronauts

who were on board the shuttle Challenger when it exploded

on take-off this morning in Florida.

But there seems little doubt that there were any survivors.

NASA is conducting a news conference at this moment.

Challenger exploded into a fireball

and pieces came down in the Atlantic Ocean...

Never in 25 launches of the space shuttle had a life been lost.

Today, that record went down in flames.

Tonight the search for survivors turned up none.

The search for answers is just starting.

Bruce Hall begins our coverage

of a spaceship that became a fireball and a national tragedy.

Ready for launch.

And lift-off.

And listen to the cheers of the young students

of the first ever US teacher-astronaut.

Moments later, a massive explosion.

The cheering stops.

I'm sorry, I can't watch this stuff.

Seven Americans with the highest hopes.

A billion dollars worth of the highest technology.

Gone in seconds.

The worst disaster in the US Space Program ever.

Hello. Er, hold on, hold on. No...

Wait!

Feynman menagerie.

Sorry, who is it? Hold on, hold on.

Who's this?

Bill. Bill who?

Bill Graham?

I've got 15,000 former students.

Listen, pal, how did you get a hold of my home number?

You're head of what?

NASA?

You got your results back yet?

Nope.

What's bugging you?

Had a phone call this morning.

They want me to go to Washington

and sit on a presidential inquiry thing.

What?

Find out why the shuttle exploded.

Did you say yes?

I'm not even that into the space programme.

I know people died and I'm very sorry about that, but...

Gwen...

I do my work, my teaching, you guys.

They just want to say that they bagged the famous physicist guy.

They're a bunch of bureaucrats and generals

with pokers up their asses, you know?

What?

You just said it.

They wouldn't know where to look. You would.

You can't pass up a puzzle, not as important as this.

I'm sorry, love, you're right.

I wasn't thinking.

Write and explain that you're not fit enough.

I'm fit. I'm fit.

Who are you kidding? I'm fit as a fiddle.

What do you Yorkshire folks say? "I'm fit as a flea. "

You want the proof?

Not especially.

Ohh... you smell so good.

OK, but...

Then you'd have no excuse.

Damn you, woman.

I'll have to wear a tie.

The Captain has turned on the no smoking signs.

At this time, please extinguish all smoking materials.

Taxi!

It's cold.

NASA headquarters.

NASA, you got it.

Cold!

With America still in shock

after the world's worst space disaster,

the address given by President Reagan

in the hours following the accident

now seems to have captured the mood of a nation.

We mourn seven heroes.

We mourn their loss as a nation together...

So, sir, are you something to do with the enquiry there?

Yeah, I'm on the presidential commission.

Ah.

Alongside some super-important people.

...slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.

Focus now turns to the cause of the tragedy,

as the Presidential Commission...

They gotta get back up there.

Something went really wrong.

Keep that. Thank you.

Sir...

Can I trouble you for an autograph?

Sure.

Who would I make it out to?

Oh...

Not you, sir. I meant Mr Neil Armstrong.

First man on the moon.

You could mail it.

That's my driver number, at that address.

OK.

I promise. Thank you.

Thank you.

So what do you expect to find?

Mr Feynman, what do you expect to find?

Pardon me.

Mr Armstrong, I think we met... Excuse me.

I'm Bill Rogers. I'm chairman of the Commission.

We're very fortunate to have you with us.

Hey, I've got somebody who wants to meet you.

Dr Sally Ride.

Oh... Our first woman in space. Well...

Nice to meet you.

You too. Mmm.

Good journey?

I took the red-eye from LA.

Don't ever do it.

Dr Alton Keel, our executive director.

Nobel laureate, Richard Feynman.

Your name I recognise too. Fellow physicist.

Formerly. I've been in Washington several years. Oh.

How's your integrity?

That's just insulting. No!

Don't take me seriously.

Commissioners.

I appreciate you all coming together at short notice.

We have a huge, vital task ahead of us,

upon which might depend the future

of manned space flight in this country.

Now, I intend for this investigation

to follow an orderly and proper procedure.

We are not going to conduct it in a manner that is in any way

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