Challenger: The Final Flight (2020): Season 1, Episode 3 - A Major Malfunction - full transcript

In the morning,
when my dad picked me up

to go to work at Thiokol,

there was an air that was very heavy.

He was a total and complete wreck.

He said, "We're gonna have
a catastrophic event.

Catastrophic."

And he was beating his fists
on the dashboard

and on the wheel.

I had never seen my dad be so despondent
just driving to work.

He said,
"The shuttle is going to explode."

Whenever you're ready, Bobby.



Okay, why don't we all
gather over at the...

You gonna do different backgrounds,
red and gold?

- Yeah.
- Whatever.

Scobee, we'd like to seat you
right in the middle.

Okay.

And, Mike,
come sit right in the middle.

What later will turn out to be the middle.

- Okay, up on the stool there. Real tall.
- Up here?

All the shirts and the jackets and the...

We need the jackets zipped,
or you wanna leave 'em...

Why don't we zip 'em up?
To about right...

About half-mast.

Casual big smile... Okay.

Christa knew that
she was gonna be launching,



and she was really,
really excited about it.

We had learned a lot about NASA,

that everything
on the mission is critical.

Regardless of who is
there to do it, it's mission-critical.

Visors are down
for launch, up for reentry.

That's it. We just landed.

Christa McAuliffe looks
every inch an astronaut these days,

and her crewmates
treat her like one of the gang.

It's a six-person raft,
so someone's gotta go.

I feel very fortunate to be on flight
with this crew,

but there's a lot of difference
between a payload specialist

or a space participant and an astronaut.

I mean,
they go through years of training,

and I've had a glimpse of a lot
of the things that they've done,

but I do not understand an awful lot
that goes on aboard the shuttle.

Dick asked me a lot
of questions about flying with a teacher.

"Should I tell them
this is a risky business?"

Whereas they were being told
it's like a commercial aircraft.

And I said, "By all means."

And he told them. "It is a risk.

This is a test vehicle.
It is not an airline."

Dick met with us several times.

He talked about
the technological challenges

and how complex this is.

He said, "You know,
of all these things that can go wrong,

there are humans involved,

and it's that humans
are more likely to make errors

than the equipment," etcetera,

so, uh, he... he really made sure
that we under... that we understood that.

My father, Mike Smith,
was the pilot of the Challenger.

As the launch approached,

we just started taking
father-daughter walks together.

And I did ask him,

"So there's a millionth of a millionth
percent chance something will go wrong?"

And he said safety was
the number-one priority for the launch,

and I left it at that, and I just went on.

Prior to the launch,

the spouses were cleared by quarantine,

but our children could not see
their mothers or fathers.

I remember, my dad,
he had snuck out of quarantine,

coming by our house very late at night.

And the fact that he was there
was one more acknowledgment that,

you know, this is risky.

I felt that he only did it
because there is that uncertainty.

He told me he loved me,
told me to take care of, you know,

my sister and my mom while he was gone
and that he'd see me soon.

You need all this.
This is the equipment that's gonna fly.

Do you wanna change anything?
Wanna try it on? Feel free to.

- I think they're big!
- You'll fill them out.

You missed it. Here's your list...

The space shuttle Challenger is set
for blast off at Cape Canaveral on Sunday.

For six of the astronauts,
it's just another day's work,

but, for the seventh,
it will be a day like no other.

The preparation is over,
the countdown has started.

For school teacher Christa McAuliffe,

the beginning of the adventure
of a lifetime is just around the corner.

The adrenaline's flowing.

It was hard sleeping last night.

Dick and the other pilots flew their
T-38s out to Kennedy Space Center.

The civilians flew in a NASA aircraft.

Christa and Greg Jarvis flew over with us.

The flight was fun.

There were tables and we could sit across
from each other in the tables.

Christa sat across from me.

We sat around joking with each other,
and we joked about her tennis shoes

versus the big Brogan boots
that the pilots wore.

But she was busy writing letters,
notes to her students.

She was a serious teacher.

Every moment was dedicated to teaching.

She had all the pressure of the media,

all the pressure of being ready to fly,

but she was still writing
letters of recommendation

for two of her students.

That was Christa, you know,
taking time out of everything else

and making sure
that those letters were written.

So we called her the write,
W-R-I-T-E, "the write stuff..."

is what Christa was.

The 51L crew landed at the shuttle landing
facility at Kennedy Space Center

where they were going to be doing
last-minute training and preparations.

We'd brought them over for a press
conference before that happened.

Good afternoon.

I'd like to introduce to you the commander
of STS 51L, Commander Dick Scobee.

As usual, it's a real pleasure
to be at the Cape to come down here

and participate in something
the Cape does better than anybody,

and that's launching space vehicles.

We expect weather like this
on Sunday when we launch,

and do the best to keep it that way
if you would.

I'd like to introduce my pilot,
Mike Smith.

Thanks, Dick. I'm one of
the three people on board who...

and it'll be my first time to fly.

Christa McAuliffe and Greg Jarvis,
will all... It'll also be their first time,

and we're just all looking forward
to getting into orbit

and getting the secret handshake.

I am hoping that the affliction
that Steve Hawley had

from the 41D mission,

mission specialist of the delays,
hasn't rubbed off on me,

and I think the guys behind me
are hoping that it hasn't also.

The mission is a great mission.

We're looking forward to it,
and I think we're ready to go fly.

I had the privilege of being a part
of the crew a couple years ago

that made the first landing
here at the Cape,

and I intend to be a part of the crew

to make the first return landing
to the Cape.

I'm very proud to be part of the program
that NASA and Hughes have put together,

and I'm glad to represent the Hughes
Aircraft Company as payload specialist.

I don't think any teacher has ever been
more ready to have two lessons in my life.

I've been preparing these since September,

and I just hope everybody
tunes in on day four now

to watch the teacher teaching from space.

After the press conference,

one of the traditions of the crew
getting ready for launch

is going out to the beach house
out there on the Atlantic Ocean

and spending some time
with their families.

The beach house is just a funky house

way on a beach
far away from everything else.

It's very low-key.

It's got orange,
faux-leather furniture inside,

and a barbecue, and it's just, you know,
big windows facing the ocean.

This was a great group.

We'd been working together, planning what
we would do while we were in Florida.

And so we were bonded.

I took pictures of each couple.

Someone took a picture of me and Dick.

He always had his arm around me,

but I remember that day,
I had my arm around him,

which was one of the only pictures
ever of us, uh, taken that way.

Parents began coming in.

And we got to meet everybody.

We had the picnic and ate.

There was kind of a family reunion.

And then there was a quiet time.

And Dick said,
"Let's take a walk on the beach."

It was a cool day.

It wasn't a warm, Florida sunshine-y day.

Dick walked as far as he could see
the shuttle,

and he looked at it and he said,
"That's home away from home for a while."

And then he turned
and started singing a song.

"For you are beautiful, and I love you
more than words can say."

And I kept hearing those words in my mind.

It was the song "The Last Farewell."

And it was kind of a goodbye.

We loved each other so much.
We'd been married for 26 years.

The countdown is underway
tonight at Cape Canaveral

toward Sunday's scheduled launch
of the shuttle Challenger,

a liftoff that will carry
America's first teacher into space.

I was at the Cape for the launch.

I remember there were really no real
issues that came up pending the weather,

and the weatherman gave this briefing,
saying that, in his opinion,

there was a very high probability
of rain showers during the launch window.

So NASA management decided, and this
is something they hardly ever did...

Usually, even if it's a bad forecast,
they go ahead and press ahead,

but in this case for some reason,
they decided to scrub the launch.

Space agency officials
called off the launch late last night

after air force meteorologist said
they expected rain and thunderstorms

during the entire
three-hour launch window.

I mean, I was really glad that they did,

because that happened
to be Super Bowl Sunday.

The first refrigerator to score.

And the largest running back ever
to score a touchdown.

I did get to see the Super Bowl.

But the showers they were worried about
didn't come in until late that afternoon,

so we missed
a perfectly good day to launch.

NASA gambled and lost.

A cold front expected to move over
the Kennedy Space Center early Sunday

didn't until about 10:30 a.m., nearly
an hour after the shuttle Challenger

was supposed to have lifted off.

But space agency officials say

weather should not be a problem
for a Monday-morning launch.

John Zarrella, CNN,
at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

They don't delay unless
there's... it's not perfect,

and that's fine with me.

I'd be much happier if it went up
when everybody thought it was perfect

than to go up on a chance basis.

Officially, Christa is now in quarantine,

only allowed to see members of her family,

and only after they
have first seen a doctor.

- Have a little bit of trepidation?
- A little bit. Yeah. It's...

As the day comes closer,
I feel a little bit more of it.

My mom and dad were nervous for her,

and I was concerned for her as well.

But we didn't wanna make a big deal
out of our worry,

because she was so excited about it.
We were all excited for her.

Make sure you stay six feet away from me.
I'm in quarantine.

How does the liftoff look for Monday
morning? How does the weather look?

The front is gonna move through this area
very rapidly tomorrow,

bringing overcast clouds
with a lot of rain,

and we're expecting this
to clear up Monday

and have great weather for the launch.

T-minus two hours, 26 minutes,
19 seconds, and counting.

This is shuttle launch control.

And here we are.

Commander Dick Scobee, the 51L crew.

And a big wave
to all the members of the media.

So they recycled
for a Monday launch attempt on the 27th,

and I'll never forget this,

because after the crew got put
on board the shuttle...

Go ahead.

Okay, we're closing the hatch now.

Copy that.

As they were closing the hatch,

they could not get the bolts to engage
to lock the hatch in place.

T-minus 15 minutes and counting.

The hatch on the Challenger continues
to be a problem as we prepare for launch.

A handle attached
to the outside of the shuttle's hatch

had to be unscrewed and removed
before takeoff as usual.

Today, the threads of one screw
were stripped.

They sent a team
of technicians out to the pad

to bring some tools out to help
them fix this situation,

and I remember you could see these guys
in their van going out to the pad.

They're going the speed limit.

And all the time the winds
are building up, you know,

the weather's deteriorating.

It's like, "Come on. Come on.
Get out there and fix this thing."

This crew came up
with this huge suitcase

full of battery-operated tools,

because you can't use anything
other than battery-operated

once the fuel's in the tank.

We expect to drill out
the problem screw within about 15 minutes.

The problem was
all of the batteries were dead.

I thought, "Gee, this is more like
watching a rerun of The Three Stooges

than launching a space shuttle."

Finally, they came back
with this real high-tech aerospace tool.

It was called a hacksaw.

They literally started
cutting this handle,

pretty thick aluminum bar, off of there,

and you don't do that in a few seconds.

They used up most
of the launch window.

The winds have been
increasing during the past hour.

Those winds presently
are no go for launch.

We are going to scrub for today.

We are in the process of letting
the crew out of the orbiter,

and they will go back
to the crew quarters.

The astronauts and Christa
were naturally disappointed by the delay,

but so were thousands
who had come to witness the flight.

I was disappointed.

I was really mad that it didn't go off.

I just hope we can stay
till tomorrow to see it.

Those winds are expected
to subside Tuesday,

but by then,
other weather factors come into play.

Well, they're calling for
temperatures well below freezing tonight.

That does present a real problem.

Now, the launch team
will look at the forecast tonight

and make a decision as to whether or not
they'll try again for tomorrow morning.

We had
a program assessment review

where all of the program managers
from all of the contractors

and all of the centers are there...

and we discussed
everybody's flight readiness.

Everybody was asked to go back
and look at their systems

and see what going down to 22 degrees
the night before would mean.

I was notified by NASA
about a weather situation down in Florida

that says this may be
a cold-weather launch.

I contacted Bob Lund, who was
our vice president of engineering,

and said, "You need to call
your folks together

and give us an assessment of anything
on the solid rocket motor

that we might be concerned of
if there's gonna be a cold-weather launch.

We're gonna have
a teleconference later today

with whatever charts you wanna prepare

so that we can make an assessment
and report that."

I recall quite distinctly
when Bob got that phone call,

and I said, "The O-rings."

And there was just no question in my mind

that that was not a good thing
for the O-rings.

The night before,

we had dinner
at crew quarters with everybody.

Wasn't like this... big farewell,

because... the feeling was
that it wasn't gonna happen.

Eventually, that night, Dick said,

"We won't be flying tomorrow.
It's too cold."

Um, so we thought
that flight was also postponed.

This is Monday night,
going into the morning of the 28th.

The cold front came in.
And it was so cold in the UPI trailer,

we had the baseboard heaters
cranked full bore,

and I was writing with a down coat on.
I mean, it was freezing.

Arctic air has forced temperatures into
the teens and below throughout the South,

and well below freezing
in Florida's citrus groves.

CNN says, "The shuttle's not going.

Can you guys go cover the freeze
in the orange groves?"

Orange crop in Florida was the biggest
agricultural crop in the state.

After successive freezes Christmas of '83
and January of '85,

Florida's citrus growers needed a break...

We had a big,
nice conference room upstairs.

Joe Kilminster was up
at the head of the table.

Bob Ebeling was just
off of the table but up toward the front.

I sat in one of the side chairs
about midway back.

We had
Kennedy Space Center on the line.

During the teleconference,

we were in this conference room
that was actually in a trailer

just south
of the vehicle assembly building.

There were five of us
in the conference room.

Back at the plant,
the people that were most knowledgeable

on the O-ring joint problem
gave the presentation.

With charts prepared by the engineers,
for the most part, handwritten.

Our engineers,
they were concerned

that the O-rings were gonna be colder

than any we'd ever launched,

that it might be worse this time
than we've ever seen.

We believed the risk was higher.
We didn't know how much higher.

We didn't know at what point
would be the... the point of... of failure,

but we knew that it was in the...
We called "the direction of badness"

versus the direction of goodness.

My dad's hopes were to actually stop it.

He didn't want them to launch.

He felt that, "We'll tell them
what's happening, and, you know,

they'll slide it back
to when it's not that cold."

But then Larry Mulloy in Florida
came on the phone,

and he made an argument,
which basically was the fact

that we are taking no additional risk.

The data did not support

the recommendation
that the engineers were making.

The data was totally inconclusive.

Larry Mulloy asked
for Thiokol's official recommendation.

And that's when
our vice president of engineering

made the decision that
we shouldn't okay the launch.

Well, Larry Mulloy asked

the Assistant Center Director
for Engineering

at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
what his position was.

He said, "I'm appalled Morton-Thiokol
can make such a recommendation."

But he said, "I wouldn't go against
the contractors' recommendation."

At that point, the vice president
of engineering said that we not launch

below 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

Larry Mulloy says, "Good God, Thiokol.

When do you want me to launch,
next April?"

I was angry at them for what I considered
to be an irrational decision.

That was an intimidating comment

that shouldn't have been made that came
out of a source of arrogance, in my view,

that did have an impact
on the spirit in that room.

Normally,
we're always challenged

to prove that it's safe to launch.

Now, all of a sudden

I got the impression they were gonna
ask us to prove that it would fail.

And we could not do that.

At this point, our boss said,
"I think we need to talk this over.

Can we go offline and have a caucus?"
And they agreed.

When they went offline
with the caucus,

I had no idea what
they were discussing back in Utah.

It was planned to be five minutes, but
we were there a little over a half hour.

We were trying to look at the data

and just make sure
that it supported our decision.

At that point,
the senior engineer,

the expert on the O-ring erosion,

he came over on the desk
at the head of the table

and made a very passionate plea.

He said, "I wouldn't launch
under these conditions."

To a man, all of the engineers
that were in that room

were in agreement with the recommendation
that we originally made.

The general manager at that time
finally said that he would take a poll.

But he only polled
the senior managers in the room.

Then he polled
the vice president of engineering,

and he kind of hummed and hawed
about what to do and was torn,

and that's when the general manager said,

"It's time to take off your engineering
hat and put on your management hat."

And then our vice president
of engineering made the decision that,

in essence, agreed with what Mulloy said,

the correlation wasn't really there,

and that we ought to say
it's okay to launch.

And I have to tell you
that I agreed with him,

and so I supported that decision.

We went and answered the phone.

My boss, Joe Kilminster, came on and said,

"Even though the low temperatures
are concerning,"

that "we have reassessed the data
and have concluded that

it is inconclusive,"

which was the very words
that Mulloy had used,

and that based on that,
they feel it's okay to proceed

on with the launch as planned.

And I, frankly, was shocked.

I couldn't understand why
they could make that judgment.

So then
the Assistant Center Director said,

"We really need that recommendation
to be put in writing

and signed by
a responsible Thiokol official."

And my immediate reaction was,

"They aren't very comfortable with this
either, and it's a CYA operation."

If something happens,
they're gonna cover their ass.

Joe Kilminster was
the vice president of the program

and had the authority,
and so he is the one who signed it.

I knew how to run the fax machine,
and I'm the one who sent it down.

That's the time that I wish...
I wish so badly that I'd have just said,

"There's a dissenting view here."

Just to let them know that this
wasn't a unanimous decision,

but that there was at least one person,
if not many,

who believed that we should stick
with the original recommendation.

Good morning.
This is shuttle launch control.

Filling of the shuttle Challenger's
external tank

with its flight load
of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen

was started at about 4:00 a.m.

The crew is still sleeping at this time.

Departure for the pad, Pad B, is scheduled

for about ten minutes of 8:00.

Day of the launch, the Kennedy people had
decided to turn all the water spigots on

on the launch tower.

So, when we got out to the launch pad
about 5:00 in the morning,

the whole thing was covered with ice.

These icicles are
a result of water systems on the pad

which had to be kept running during
the night in order to prevent freezing.

When those engines start up,

the ice can break off
and damage the heat shield.

So that was a very concerning problem.
We kept listening to the radio.

We had scanners where we'd try
to listen in on what's going on.

The icicles that are a concern

are approximately
one foot to two foot in length,

and there are many of them
all over the service structure.

I remember I didn't sleep
very much that night,

and I actually got
to the launch pad early.

The first thing I did is
I looked at the monitors,

and I saw all these icicles hanging
on the fixed service structure,

some on the vehicle.

And the reaction was, "They're not gonna
launch this thing today. It's scrubbed."

On the morning of the launch,

we came in about five hours
before scheduled liftoff,

assembled the Houston crew.

I was the lead capcom,
or the lead capsule communicator.

And I was sitting next to Dick Covey,

who was the ascent
or the launch capcom for that mission.

There was a lot of concern
about the cold and ice.

That was kind of hanging over us
as we went through the normal routines

of getting the crew out to the Challenger.

This will be the second countdown

for what's going to be
known as the teacher flight.

A lot of people around the country
are going to be watching this one

if it gets off today as they sincerely
hope it does.

This Girl Scout troop from South Carolina

raised $2,000 to see
a former Girl Scout lift off into space.

We're gonna stay and watch it get off.

No matter what the weather.

No matter what.

There were a series of buses,
and we were driven out to the viewing pad.

We all kind of slipped
into the grandstand.

It was so exciting.

I remember feeling
fairly close to everything.

And we would be watching the launch
with Christa's family.

My parents and I, my husband,
my brother, were in the stands.

None of us had witnessed a liftoff before,
so it was like a party-like atmosphere.

A crowd of some 500 spectators,
including 18 visiting school children

from McAuliffe's hometown of Concord,
New Hampshire wait anxiously.

Up at Christa's school in Concord,
New Hampshire,

they crowded into the cafeteria
to watch the big event on television.

We want her to hurry up and go up

so, you know, we can find out
what it's gonna be really like.

I was in the Concord High auditorium.

We had party hats. We had noise makers.

We were all excited.
Teachers were excited.

The whole city of Concord was excited.

Our teacher, Christa,
was going into space.

The ten-member ice crew

and six-member debris and road crew team
are now on their way into the pad.

They'll go first to inspect the tank
aft dome and the shuttle engines.

They delayed the launch. I think
it was originally 9:38 in the morning.

They delayed two hours to 11:38.

You could see them on television,
up and down the gantry, you know,

scanning, looking for signs of ice.

The ice inspection crew
continuing to take a look

at the external tank and the orbiter.

I called the mission evaluation room
where all of the engineers

were assembled,
supporting the control center...

They had run calculations, and they said
the ice would not hit the orbiter.

I polled the room on whether we should go.

Everybody at the table voted to go.

It was a totally clear sky.

You know, it was Mars to CAVU, as we used
to say, "clear and visibility unlimited."

It's an old test pilot phrase.
It was just a beautiful day.

It was just very cold.

This is shuttle launch control,
and here comes the 51L flight crew,

boarding the elevator
for the second time in two days,

ready to depart the O&C building
for the launch pad.

Dick called and said,
"We are going to fly."

I said,
"There's icicles hanging everywhere."

He said, "No, they told us they've knocked
all the icicles off. We can fly."

He said in his traditional way,

"Honey, I'll be back in a week.
Take care."

Big smiles today,
confidently getting into the van.

Attempt a second try at launch today.

I spoke to Christa
the night before.

She said she was a little bit nervous,
had some butterflies.

And I had asked her
about the ice and the coldness,

and she said that she felt
that they would take care of that,

that she had full faith in NASA.

The closeout crew
has arrived at the pad now,

to the white room where they'll begin
getting things ready for the flight crew.

The astronaut support person
will don some headgear

and verify that the communications
between the orbiter

and the firing room are working properly.

It'll take a few minutes
for the astronaut van to get to the pad.

Ten mile or so trip to Launch Pad B.

The launch had a two-hour delay,

and so I decided to go
into the conference room.

The conference room was absolutely full,

and I was just as nervous as I could be.

My dad let me in.

I sat in front of him,
and the engineers sat in front of me.

Dad leaned down and told me that he was

praying and praying
that this was going to work out.

The first crew member,
Commander Dick Scobee,

now in the white room,

taking off his jacket along
with Mike Smith, who is the pilot.

We all went up to the roof
of launch control center

and were out watching the launch,

and it was a beautiful, crazy cold day.

It was just a very exciting,
thrilling moment,

finally he was gonna go do
what he had planned to do.

And we were standing together.

Mike Smith shaking hands
with the closeout crew

which has assisted him in getting ready.

Everything continues
to look favorable now

for a launch of the 51L Mission at 11:38.

CDR, this is LTD
on air-to-ground one. I read...

- All clear. Good morning.
- Good morning.

The teacher Christa McAuliffe

has been handed an apple
by the closeout crew.

In Houston,
we would wait for the liftoff,

and there's actually very little
conversation that occurs.

It's a time of wait.

The ground one
sequencer program has been initiated.

The ground launch sequencer has started
retracting the orbiter crew access arm.

Roger Wilco.

This is mission control Houston.

Flight controllers have been on console
here and are ready to support launch.

Okay, let's go for ET... pressurization.

The liquid hydrogen tank
now at flight pressure,

and all three engines ready to go.

The pilot Mike Smith has cleared
the caution and memory systems.

No unexpected errors reported.

Sixteen's getting ready to go airborne.

Okay, thanks.

The 51L Mission ready to go.

T-minus 15 seconds.
We've had a go for auto sequence start.

Water should come down.

T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six...

We have main engine start.
Four, three, two, one...

And liftoff.
Liftoff of the 25th space shuttle mission.

You can feel the engines,

and it's visceral and it's happening,
and it's just so euphoric.

And it has cleared the tower.

Bye, Christa! Bye, crew!

The launchpad looks like it's far away,

but when the shuttle goes,
you feel it, you hear it, you see it.

I turned to my brother and I said,
"Isn't it beautiful?"

Mission Control, roll program.

Commander says,
"Roll program, Houston."

Control of the space shuttle shifts
from the launch control center

to the mission control center in Houston.

My response...

Roger roll, Challenger.

That is to make sure we can hear them
and that they can hear us.

Roll program confirmed.
Challenger now heading downrange.

Three engines running normally.
Three good fuel cells.

Normal throttle. It's at 104%.

Engines beginning throttling down now.
At 94%.

In the conference room,
there was a great relief.

And my dad leaned down, and he said,
"We're not done yet."

Engines throttling up.
Every engine now at 104%.

- Challenger, go with throttle up.
- Roger, go to throttle up.

We saw a flash.

And everyone I think even kinda said,
"Oh, that's the solid rocket boosters."

We think this is what we were
supposed to see.

But then someone said there might be
a problem, and this started to spread.

Flight controllers here,
looking very carefully at the situation.

My parents were very quiet.

Obviously, a major malfunction.

We weren't certain
what we were looking at.

But we knew it wasn't right.

We have a report
from the flight dynamics officer

that the vehicle has exploded.

And the voice came back
on the loudspeaker and said,

"The vehicle has exploded."

And that was it.