Gallery Would Be Dedicated To The Shuttle Program

Officials at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum say they are considering a display of artifacts recovered following the Columbia and Challenger disasters, but only if the families of the astronauts give consent for the exhibit.

Challenger On Orbit NASA Image

In an interview with the online site Collect Space, an official of the museum said the displays would be informational in nature, discussing the conditions that led to the loss of both spacecraft.

Challenger was lost on Jan. 28, 1986. Just 73 seconds into mission STS 51-L, a booster failure caused an explosion that resulted in the loss of seven astronauts, as well as the vehicle. Columbia, which was the oldest orbiter in the fleet, was lost on re-entry over east Texas on its landing descent to Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 1, 2003, at 0859 EST at the conclusion of a microgravity research mission, STS-107. A piece of insulating foam from the orbiters external fuel tank broke off during launch, creating a small hole in one of the spacecraft's wings. That allowed hot plasma to enter the the spacecraft, causing it to break apart on re-entry.

Challenger Debris NASA Image

The debris has been stored in former Minuteman Missile silos since the investigations concluded. One artifact from Columbia, the flight data recorder, is already on display at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

If the display goes forward, it would be part of the "Moving Beyond Earth" gallery. The initial portion of the hall was opened in 2009.

Debris From Columbia NASA Image

The official told Collect Space that NASA still has to be convinced to allow the exhibit to go forward, and so far the reaction from the agency has been mixed. But the Smithsonian feels that enough time has passed that the families may be willing to consider allowing the public display of the artifacts which to them represent very personal tragedies.

FMI: www.si.edu, www.nasa.gov