Photos of Challenger’s Crew Cabin Released After Lawsuit

NASA released dozens of photographs of the space shuttle Challenger’s smashed crew cabin to a New York man who sued, citing the federal Freedom of Information Act, according to a published report.

The 48 pictures were taken after the crew cabin was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean in 1986, the New York Times reported in today’s editions. The newspaper published one of the photos showing a damaged section of the cabin’s bulkhead.

All seven crew members aboard Challenger, including New Hampshire schoolteacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe, were killed when the shuttle exploded shortly after takeoff on Jan. 28, 1986, and crashed into the ocean off Cape Canaveral, Fla.

New York artist Ben Sarao requested the pictures in 1990 but was denied. He eventually sued the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the pictures and they were released to him on Feb. 3, the Times said.

“I did it to help people understand what happened to that structure and to help them learn how to build better ones,” Sarao said.

Dr. Tomasz Wierzbicki, an engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has written extensively about the Challenger cabin, said the release could be an engineering bonanza.

“This is a tremendous asset,” he said. “Any information on the damage is telling you the story of what happened, and that can help you think about improving design.”

NASA spokesman Jeff Vincent said this was the first such release of photos by the agency, adding that the pictures had been screened first to protect the privacy of the crew members and their families.

He said that under the law the photos can now be released to anyone who asks for them.

Pictures taken of the exploding craft from the ground indicate that the crew cabin survived the explosion and remained intact throughout its fall to Earth, with some crew members possibly conscious until it hit the ocean.

Searches of the ocean floor reportedly only uncovered pieces of the cabin.

The crew members’ remains, which were recovered, were returned to their families.

The newspaper reported that the photos released to Sarao show such things as crumpled window frames, twisted pieces of metal, wiring, broken electronic boxes and a wooden scaffolding that is holding up a reconstruction of the cabin’s rear section.