Back row: L-R: Gary Payton, James Buchli, Ellison Onizuka
Front row L-R: Loren Shriver, Thomas Mattingly
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-C), launched January 24, 1985, was the third flight of Discovery and the first mission dedicated to the U.S. Department of Defense. Many details about the mission are still classified.
Her crew consisted of Commander Thomas Mattingly II, Pilot Loren Shriver, Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka, Mission Specialist James Buchli and Payload Specialist Gary Payton.
During liftoff, there was a clear indication that the O-rings on both Solid Rocket Boosters were not sufficiently sealing hot gases inside the combustion chambers. Post-flight analyses showed significant penetration of the primary O-ring and "heavy charring" on the secondary O-ring. Almost a year to the day later, Challenger exploded during liftoff, killing all hands on board, including Ellison Onizuka who was on both missions.
The results of the O-ring studies contributed to the consensus that it was low air temperature (53 °F) at launch that brought Challenger down.
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