Sep 12 1988
From The Space Library
NASA and the Air Force, responsible for range safety, mutually determined that the number of persons permitted access to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-26, would be greatly reduced for safety reasons. Studies of the January 1986 Challenger accident, and the loss of an Air Force Titan 34D the following April, showed that the danger to persons on the ground, if an accident occurred, was much greater than previously thought. Under certain conditions, a Solid Rocket Booster released from the vehicle as a result of an accident would follow an unknown ballistic trajectory, rather than tumble on course as previously thought. In addition, upon destruction the boosters fragmented into thousands of pieces and the explosive properties of unburned solid motor propellant were greater than originally determined in laboratory tests. Because of this new information, NASA and the Air Force determined that the prudent action would be to minimize the population at the close-in viewing areas. (NASA Release 88-125)
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