320
PARTISAN REVIEW
ter, the Titanic went down in two and some hours; the Challenger
disintegrated in seventy-odd seconds, in a moment witnessed re–
peatedly the same day on television throughout the world. Our in–
formation as to what actually occurred during the Titanic disaster is
anecdotal, the account of a handful of survivors; we have, however,
instrumentation that has provided precise information about the
Challenger's last moments, as excerpts from the Rogers Commission
Report reveal:
Just after lift-off at .678 seconds into the flight, photographic
data shows a strong puff of gray smoke was spurting from the
vicinity of the aft field joint on the right solid rocket booster.
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 very first small flame was
detected on' 'image-enhanced film at 58.788 seconds into the
flight.
The first visual indication that swirling flame from the right solid
rocket booster b'l'eached the external tank was at 64.660 seconds
when there was an abrupt change in the shape and color of the
plume .
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.
At
7~ :
124 seconds, a circumferential white vapor pattern was
obseFYed blooming from the side of the external tank bottom
dome.
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, burn–
ing of the hydrogen streaming from the failed tank bottom and
the liquid oxygen breach in the area of the intertank.
