The Challenger Disaster

Short description: 2013 television film by James Hawes

This page is about the 2013 telemovie. For the 1986 disaster, see Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

The Challenger Disaster

Also known as| The Challenger
Genre| Drama
Based on|

* Script error: No such module "Based on".
* Script error: No such module "Based on".

Written by| Kate Gartside
Directed by| James Hawes
Starring|

* Joanne Whalley
* William Hurt
* Bruce Greenwood
* Kevin McNally
* Eve Best
* Brian Dennehy

Music by| Christopher Letcher
Country of origin| United States
United Kingdom
Original language(s)| English
Production
Cinematography| Lukas Strebel
Editor(s)| Peter Christelis
Running time| 89 minutes
Production company(s)|

* BBC Films
* Erstweit Medien
* Moonlighting Films
* Pictureshow Productions
* Science Channel
* Open University

Release
Original network| BBC2
Original release| 12 May 2013 (2013-05-12)

The Challenger (US title: The Challenger Disaster) is a 2013 TV movie starring William Hurt about Richard Feynman's investigation into the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.[1] The film was co-produced by the BBC, the Science Channel, and Open University,[2] and it premiered on 12 May 2013 on BBC2.

It is based on two books What Do You Care What Other People Think? (1988)[3] and Truth, Lies and O-Rings.[4][2]

The film follows Feynman (William Hurt) as he attempts to expose the truth in the disaster.

It aired in the U.S. on the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel on 16 November 2013.

## Contents

* 1 Plot
* 2 Reception
* 3 Cast
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Plot

Dr. Richard Feynman, a physics professor at Caltech, gives a guest lecture to students, lamenting on both the power and limitations of science. While driving home, he hears on the radio that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on takeoff and that it is very likely the astronauts perished in the accident. Several days later, he receives a phone call from a former student of his, who asks him to sit on the Presidential Commission to determine what caused the accident. Feynman, a vocal opponent of the political games politicians and government play, initially is unsure if he should participate; however, his wife Gwen encourages him that he cannot pass up a puzzle like this, and must sit on the inquiry and figure out what really happened.

Feynman arrives in Washington and quickly realizes the chairman William Rogers wants to protect NASA and may not be seeking the real truth of what caused the accident. Unbeknownst to Feynman, the commission will be in recess for five days before any official work begins. During this time he visits various NASA production facilities on his own to learn and attempt to determine the cause of the accident. There he finds a culture lacking in truth and reality as NASA employees are afraid to openly discuss known issues with the shuttle program out of fear. As a maverick investigator, Feynman discovers many other known issues through research and a surreptitious note that the loss of a shuttle was expected. Feynman's only ally on the commission, General Donald J. Kutyna, attempts to leak information to Feynman as he has a secret source within NASA who knows what really happened.

As Feynman draws closer to the truth his health dramatically changes as he discovers he has cancer. Realizing how important the truth is, he returns to Washington to divulge the reason for the shuttle's failure. In a televised broadcast of the commission hearing, having discovered that the O-rings were the culprit for the explosion, he demonstrates that due to cold temperatures, the O-ring could not expand and caused the explosion. Unable to hide from these findings, the commission issues its report to President Ronald Reagan with Feynman including an appendix with his own findings, citing "for a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." The film closes with a montage of several key members in the film and their contributions.

## Reception

The movie scored an overall approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]

Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times writes "The Challenger investigation story doesn’t have quite the level of malfeasance or the cloak-and-dagger undertones of other movies about real-life government or business debacles. But it still makes for an absorbing tale, one that seems well timed for our current moment of bungled websites, unrestrained eavesdropping and public skepticism."[6]

Michael Starr of The New York Post writes "It’s both a learning experience and an emotional reminder of what can go wrong in that gray area separating man and machine."[7]

Hank Stuever of The Washington Post writes "The film is an appropriately somber and smoothly told account of the Washington politics and cross-agency obfuscation that nearly derailed the commission's investigation into the disaster, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe".[8]

## Cast

* William Hurt as Dr. Richard Feynman
* Joanne Whalley as Gweneth Feynman
* Bruce Greenwood as General Donald Kutyna
* Brian Dennehy as Chairman William Rogers
* Eve Best as Dr. Sally Ride
* Henry Goodman as Dr. Weiss
* Kevin McNally as Lawrence Mulloy
* Sean Michael as Judson Lovingood

## See also

* Rogers Commission Report
* Challenger, 1990 film
* Challenger: The Final Flight, 2020 documentary miniseries

## References

1. ↑ Bricken, Rob (February 2013). "Here's William Hurt as the legendary physicist Richard Feynman!". io9. http://io9.com/5980830/heres-william-hurt-playing-the-legendary-physicist-richard-feynman.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 End credits
3. ↑ Feynman, Richard; Feynman, Gweneth; Leighton, Ralph (1988). What Do You Care What Other People Think?. W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-02659-0.
4. ↑ McDonald, Allan J; Hansen, James R (30 March 2012). Truth, Lies and O-Rings. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0813041933.
5. ↑ "The Challenger Disaster - Rotten Tomatoes" (in en). 2015-08-08. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_challenger_disaster.
6. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (2013-11-15). "The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth (Published 2013)" (in en). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/arts/television/the-challenger-disaster-an-original-science-channel-film.html.
7. ↑ "One man's search for the cause of the Challenger tragedy" (in en-US). 2013-11-14. https://nypost.com/2013/11/13/searching-for-the-cause-of-the-challenger-tragedy/.
8. ↑ Stuever, Hank (November 15, 2013). "Science Channel's 'The Challenger Disaster': A physicist's courage and a chilling reminder". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/science-channels-the-challenger-disaster-a-physicists-courage-and-a-chilling-reminder/2013/11/15/cdf52dfa-4cc4-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html.

## External links

* The Challenger Disaster on IMDb
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
* Template:Metacritic television
* The Challenger on BBC2

* v
* t
* e

Richard Feynman

Career|

* Feynman diagram
* Feynman–Kac formula
* Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory
* Bethe–Feynman formula
* Hellmann–Feynman theorem
* Feynman slash notation
* Feynman parametrization
* Path integral formulation
* Parton model
* Sticky bead argument
* One-electron universe
* Quantum cellular automaton
* Rogers Commission Report
* Feynman checkerboard

Works|

* "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" (1959)
* The Feynman Lectures on Physics (1964)
* The Character of Physical Law (1965)
* QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (1985)
* Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985)
* What Do You Care What Other People Think? (1988)
* The Motion of Planets Around the Sun (1997)
* The Meaning of It All (1999)
* The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (1999)
* Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005)

Family|

* Joan Feynman (sister)
* Charles Hirshberg (nephew)

Related|

* Namesakes
* Cargo cult science
* Quantum Man
* Tuva or Bust!
* Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology
* Infinity (1996 film)
* QED (2001 play)
* The Challenger (2013 film)

* v
* t
* e

Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099)

Flights|

* STS-6
* STS-7
* STS-8
* STS-41-B
* STS-41-C
* STS-41-G
* STS-51-B
* STS-51-F
* STS-61-A
* STS-51-L

Status|

* Out of service - Challenger disaster (destroyed) - January 28, 1986 (STS-51-L)

Related|

* Rogers Commission
* STS-61-F
* STS-61-M
* Challenger flag
* The Dream Is Alive (1985 documentary)
* Challenger (1990 film)
* The Challenger (2013 film)

* v
* t
* e

STS-51-L

* Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

| Main articles|

* Space Shuttle Challenger
* Timeline of STS-51-L

Crew|

* Scobee (Cmdr)
* Smith
* Resnik
* Onizuka
* McNair
* Jarvis
* McAuliffe

See also|

* Rogers Commission Report
* Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
* TDRS-B
* Challenger flag
* Challenger (1990 film)

* v
* t
* e

Space Shuttle program

* Space Shuttle
* List of missions
* List of crews

Components|

* Space Shuttle orbiter
* Solid Rocket Booster
* External Tank
* Main Engine
* Orbital Maneuvering System
* Reaction control system
* Thermal protection system
* Booster separation motor

Orbiters|

* Enterprise
* Columbia
* Challenger
* Discovery
* Atlantis
* Endeavour

Add-ons|

* Spacelab (ESA)
* Canadarm (CSA)
* Extended Duration Orbiter
* Remote Controlled Orbiter
* Spacehab
* Multi-Purpose Logistics Module

Sites|

* Kennedy Space Center LC-39
* Vandenberg SLC-6
* Landing sites
* Shuttle Landing Facility
* Abort Landing Sites

Operations
and training|

* Missions (canceled)
* Crews
* Mission timeline
* Rollbacks
* Countdown
* Abort modes
* Rendezvous pitch maneuver
* Shuttle Mission Simulator
* Shuttle Training Aircraft

Testing|

* Inspiration (design)
* Pathfinder (simulator)
* MPTA (engine mounts)
* MPTA-ET (external tank)
* Approach and Landing Tests

Disasters|

* Challenger disaster (report)
* Columbia disaster (report)

Support|

* Crawler-transporter
* Mate-Demate Device
* Mobile Launcher Platform
* NASA recovery ship
* Orbiter Processing Facility
* Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL)
* Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
* flights
* Shuttle Training Aircraft
* STS-3xx

Special|

* Deutschland-1
* Getaway Special
* Teacher in Space Project
* Shuttle-Mir
* Hitchhiker

Space suits|

* Extravehicular Mobility Unit
* Shuttle Ejection Escape Suit
* Launch Entry Suit
* Advanced Crew Escape Suit

Experiments|

* Freestar experiments
* Inflatable Antenna Experiment
* Spartan Packet Radio Experiment
* Shuttle pallet satellite
* Wake Shield Facility

Derivatives|

* Saturn-Shuttle (canceled)
* Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle
* Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle
* Jupiter
* Shuttle-C
* Ares
* Space Launch System

Replicas|

* Independence

Related|

* Space Shuttle design process
* Inertial Upper Stage
* Payload Assist Module
* International Space Station
* Criticism
* Retirement
* Conroy Virtus
* The Dream Is Alive (1985 documentary)
* Space Shuttle America
* Rendezvous
* Space Shuttle Project
* Shuttle
* Space Shuttle
* Space Shuttle Mission 2007
* Orbiter simulator

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