Talk:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

Add A Paragraph About Big Bird's Involvement

Nasa was in talks with Sesame Street Producers to have Caroll Spinney be aboard the challenger and film segments as his famous character, Big Bird. The plan was thrown out because the suit wouldn't be able to fit inside the shuttle and Spinney was replaced by McAuliffe. I think that would be an interesting part of the page. MrCboY1997 (talk) 14:53, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

If you've got reliable sources for that, you're welcome to add it. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 17:25, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

It has been a bit of time since I was working on this article, but I remember not being able to find reliable sources for the Big Bird anecdote, but read about it in forum posts and the like. That being said, I don't think it was a 1-for-1 swap between Big Bird and McAuliffe; I think the idea was that NASA planned to do more outreach using citizen-astronauts, starting with Teacher in Space, but plans were scrapped after the Challenger Disaster. This story wouldn't merit an entire paragraph/subsection. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 19:50, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Having done a bit of research after this came up, looks like the initial plan was indeed more citizen-astronauts - there were fairly solid plans for at least one reporter that I could find. Big Bird, however, seems to have gotten no further than "hey, this would be neat". I found reference to NASA contacting the producers asking if they thought this would be neat too, and they seem to have agreed, but there's nothing beyond that. I wouldn't call it "in talks," certainly. If we added a reference to this to the article, I'd suggest merely saying that NASA had expressed interest in having Big Bird fly on a shuttle mission - but to be honest, I don't think it belongs on the page that's specifically about the catastrophic launch. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 15:07, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

I believe we should add this information as several sources like [1] confirmed talks, however it should be added to another article as per Wikipedia:But for Napoleon, it was Tuesday. XCBRO172 (talk) 17:04, 16 November 2023 (UTC)

Add in media War thunder use of image of rocket motor

The new Seek and Destroy update 19 June 2024Example showing they line up and Their own website showing the promotional wallpaper the update also added a new map labeled “Mysterious Valley, Spaceport” that takes place in a fictional area of China that includes a rocket launch site 173.207.189.230 (talk) 13:17, 23 June 2024 (UTC)

I stand corrected not a fictional place in china 173.207.189.230 (talk) 22:33, 23 June 2024 (UTC)

They have changed poster and removed the use of the image of the rocket motor’s explosion 173.207.189.230 (talk) 20:27, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

This is all trivia with no reliable source to show notability. Reddit is not a valid source for our needs. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 12:27, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

Add Smith was likely breathing the entire fall to the ocean?

An NYT Book Review of Higginbotham's new book Challenger mentioned that astronaut Smith "had survived the entire journey, counting down the seconds to certain death" (6/9/2024). I was curious how exactly that was determined and what it meant. Reading the Talk here about this page's section, I was thankful for @HandThatFeeds's reminder about reliable and valid sources, and to @NekoKatsun considered takes.

Your posts prompted me to dig in, and go to Higginbotham's book itself. While it's not a primary source but secondary, there's a helpful finding there. "The volume of air remaining in Smith’s pack also revealed that someone had been breathing from the supply for around two and a half minutes: almost exactly the length of time it took for the sundered crew cabin to fall the twelve miles from its apogee to the surface of the Atlantic."(p. 439) Higginbotham, Adam. Challenger : A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, Simon & Schuster, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/northeastern-ebooks/detail.action?docID=30789142. Created from northeastern-ebooks on 2024-07-21 00:20:28.

So while Slade's statement may go too far (inferring whether Smith was literally counting down seconds seems not supported), I do wonder if it would answer public curiosity to add a sentence or two, and even borrow from Slade's review. Something like this maybe:

"Recorded audio captured from a painstakingly reconstructed magnetic tape of the shuttle’s black box revealed that at least one astronaut, Mike Smith, had survived the entire journey," as Rachel Slade described 6/9/2024. The book reviewed by Slade, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham, explained, "The volume of air remaining in Smith’s pack also revealed that someone had been breathing from the supply for around two and a half minutes: almost exactly the length of time it took for the sundered crew cabin to fall the twelve miles from its apogee to the surface of the Atlantic." (p. 439). http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/northeastern-ebooks/detail.action?docID=30789142

Out of respect for more experienced Wikipedia editors I figured I'd ask first in Talk rather than boldly make the edit without first checking. Also I apologize I'm unfamiliar with the conventions for citation and wonder if anyone can help get that right too. Roben Torosyan, Ph.D. (talk) 00:48, 21 July 2024 (UTC)

Add Smith was likely breathing the entire fall to the ocean?

An NYT Book Review of Higginbotham's new book "Challenger" mentioned that Smith "had survived the entire journey, counting down the seconds to certain death" (6/9/2024). I was curious how exactly that was determined and what it meant. Reading the Talk here about this page's section, I was thankful for @HandThatFeeds's reminder about reliable and valid sources. Got me to go Higginbotham's book itself. While it's not a primary source but secondary, there's a helpful finding there. "The volume of air remaining in Smith’s pack also revealed that someone had been breathing from the supply for around two and a half minutes: almost exactly the length of time it took for the sundered crew cabin to fall the twelve miles from its apogee to the surface of the Atlantic."(p. 439) Higginbotham, Adam. Challenger : A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, Simon & Schuster, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/northeastern-ebooks/detail.action?docID=30789142. Created from northeastern-ebooks on 2024-07-21 00:20:28.

So while Slade's statement may go too far (inferring whether Smith was literally counting down seconds), I wonder if it would answer public curiosity to add a sentence or two, such as:

"Recorded audio captured from a painstakingly reconstructed magnetic tape of the shuttle’s black box revealed that at least one astronaut, Mike Smith, had survived the entire journey," as Rachel Slade described 6/9/2024. The book reviewed by Slade, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham, explained, "The volume of air remaining in Smith’s pack also revealed that someone had been breathing from the supply for around two and a half minutes: almost exactly the length of time it took for the sundered crew cabin to fall the twelve miles from its apogee to the surface of the Atlantic." (p. 439). http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/northeastern-ebooks/detail.action?docID=30789142

Out of respect for more experienced Wikipedia editors I figured I'd ask first in Talk rather than boldly make the edit without first checking. Also I apologize I'm unfamiliar with the conventions for citation and wonder if anyone can help get that right too. Roben Torosyan, Ph.D. (talk) 00:49, 21 July 2024 (UTC)