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Challenger disaster: how emptyfull was the external tank at the time of destruction?

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Russell Borogove
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We have all heard about the Challenger disaster.

Reading the Vehicle breakup subsection, this sentence made me very curious:

The external tank at this point suffered a complete structural failure, the LH2 and LOX tanks rupturing, mixing, and igniting, creating a fireball that enveloped the whole stack.

I know it is not the explosion which destroyed the whole vehicle but aerodynamic forces, but I wonder:

  • how manyHow much liquid fuel and oxydizeroxidizer were left in the external tank at the time of its destruction?

Bonus question:

  • howHow many secondseconds were left before SRBsSRB separation?

I couldn't find any information, so thank you for your answers!

We have all heard about the Challenger disaster.

Reading the Vehicle breakup subsection, this sentence made me very curious:

The external tank at this point suffered a complete structural failure, the LH2 and LOX tanks rupturing, mixing, and igniting, creating a fireball that enveloped the whole stack.

I know it is not the explosion which destroyed the whole vehicle but aerodynamic forces, but I wonder:

  • how many liquid fuel and oxydizer were left in the external tank at the time of its destruction?

Bonus question:

  • how many second were left before SRBs separation?

I couldn't find any information, so thank you for your answers!

We have all heard about the Challenger disaster.

Reading the Vehicle breakup subsection, this sentence made me very curious:

The external tank at this point suffered a complete structural failure, the LH2 and LOX tanks rupturing, mixing, and igniting, creating a fireball that enveloped the whole stack.

I know it is not the explosion which destroyed the whole vehicle but aerodynamic forces, but I wonder:

  • How much liquid fuel and oxidizer were left in the external tank at the time of its destruction?

Bonus question:

  • How many seconds were left before SRB separation?

I couldn't find any information, so thank you for your answers!

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le_daim
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