Some of these have already been recovered, including the right wall of the mid-deck of the crew compartment. It is known that the explosive force of the initial fireball virtually shredded much of the orbiter into scores of pieces. Navy, has involved a flotilla of 11 ships, one nuclear-powered submarine, and 41 deep sea divers searching an area of 350 square nautical miles starting due east of the Kennedy Space Center launch pad.Īlthough the NASA statement was vague in describing the condition of the debris, it is likely that the compartment was substantially broken up and that the remains had undergone some decomposition and attack by fish and other sea life common at that depth. The operation, described as one of the the most extensive ever mounted by the U.S. The discovery of the remains follows a massive salvage and recovery operation that began within minutes after the Challenger exploded on Jan. I think it would add a lot more trauma to an already traumatic experience." The part of the person that matters has already been taken away."Īlan Jarvis, the brother of mission specialist Gregory Jarvis, said, "I was hoping it wouldn't happen. "If they found anything, what they found is a physical part of a person. That news "doesn't make any difference to me now," he said. Tony Smith, the younger brother of pilot Mike Smith, said his family had been told Friday that searchers had located the crew cabin but that he knew nothing about reports that the compartment contained remains of the astronauts. They told us they'd let us know when they had more information." "They've at least seen it and the impression is that there were remains. "But there is no more news than that," he said. Charles Resnik of Richmond, Resnik's brother, said in an interview the family was notified Friday night. As far as I'm concerned, services have already been performed."ĭr. Resnik's father, Marvin, told the Associated Press that the discovery "is not going to bring anybody back. McNair was in New York at ceremonies to establish a fund for the Ron McNair Science Playground in Harlem and appeared visibly shaken by the news. NASA said it began to notify the families on Friday, but McNair's father told United Press International, "I just heard today on news reports" that the divers had identified remains of the crew. The crew members were commander Francis Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis and teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first "ordinary" person in space. NASA's Hugh Harris said the divers were not able to determine how many of the bodies are in the wreckage.Ĭhallenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven aboard. Pathologists from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology have flown to Patrick Air Force Base near the cape, where they will assist in identifying the remains, officials said. The compartment was believed to have been located about 15 miles east of the cape, although NASA would not give an exact location and said that "local security measures are being taken to assure that recovery operations can take place in a safe and orderly manner." Because of six-foot waves, no recovery operations were possible today.īurnette said that the Preserver returned to port Saturday night, but said she could not comment on whether it carried any crew cabin debris or remains. "We're talking debris, and not a crew compartment, and we're talking remains, not bodies," she said.īecause of stiff winds and ocean currents, it "may take several days" to complete the recovery off the Florida coast, NASA officials said. Deborah Burnette, said that neither the crew compartment nor the bodies were intact. In deference to the families, the agency said it will release no further details until the recovery is completed and the remains are identified. The families of the seven crew members were notified of the discovery over the weekend. "Subsequent dives provided positive identification of the Challenger crew compartment debris and the existence of crew remains," the National Aeronautics and Space Administration statement said. On Saturday, another group of divers from the USS Preserver, who the space agency said were "thoroughly briefed on debris identification," began to search the area. Navy divers have located wreckage of the crew compartment of the space shuttle Challenger lying on the ocean bottom in 100 feet of water and confirmed that it contains remains of the astronauts killed nearly six weeks ago, NASA said today.ĭivers, aided by sonar, made a "possible" identification of the crew cabin late Friday afternoon.
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