A stack of bright red vinyl tags, each bearing the ominous warning "Remove Before Flight", had been purchased on eBay in 2010. The buyer's intentions were to use them as giveaways at astronaut events and space memorabilia shows, but it wasn't until years later that the true significance of these tags was revealed.
The tags, stamped with a unique identifier ET-26, were once attached to the External Tank of the ill-fated Space Shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated just 73 seconds into its maiden flight in 1986. The tragedy claimed the lives of all seven crew members on board.
According to NASA, approximately 20 percent of the damaged tank was recovered from the ocean floor and is now stored in two retired missile silos at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. However, no one knew what had happened to the tags after they were detached from the shuttle before its ill-fated launch.
It wasn't until the buyer began researching the history of the tags that they stumbled upon a cryptic story involving Lockheed Martin, NASA's Apollo and Challenger Lessons Learned Program, and a former manager named Mike Cianilli. The search led him to a fact sheet detailing each Space Shuttle mission, including one for STS-51L, which confirmed the tags' association with the doomed flight.
The buyer soon realized that the tags had been removed from the shuttle before its launch but not until hours after it reached the pad. The process of removal was carefully documented by NASA's ground crews to ensure they were gone before propellant loading began.
Despite numerous attempts to contact others who may have information about the tags, including eBay sellers and former NASA employees, no one has come forward with concrete details about what happened to these artifacts after their departure from the space shuttle.
The tags, stamped with a unique identifier ET-26, were once attached to the External Tank of the ill-fated Space Shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated just 73 seconds into its maiden flight in 1986. The tragedy claimed the lives of all seven crew members on board.
According to NASA, approximately 20 percent of the damaged tank was recovered from the ocean floor and is now stored in two retired missile silos at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. However, no one knew what had happened to the tags after they were detached from the shuttle before its ill-fated launch.
It wasn't until the buyer began researching the history of the tags that they stumbled upon a cryptic story involving Lockheed Martin, NASA's Apollo and Challenger Lessons Learned Program, and a former manager named Mike Cianilli. The search led him to a fact sheet detailing each Space Shuttle mission, including one for STS-51L, which confirmed the tags' association with the doomed flight.
The buyer soon realized that the tags had been removed from the shuttle before its launch but not until hours after it reached the pad. The process of removal was carefully documented by NASA's ground crews to ensure they were gone before propellant loading began.
Despite numerous attempts to contact others who may have information about the tags, including eBay sellers and former NASA employees, no one has come forward with concrete details about what happened to these artifacts after their departure from the space shuttle.
I mean, 20 years go by and we find out that there are vinyl tags stuck on some Space Shuttle part from back in '86? What's up with that? Did NASA just lose track of them or what? 
And now these guys who bought the tags on eBay have been digging around for info and can't get anyone to come forward... seems fishy. How did they even end up on the space shuttle in the first place? Was it some kind of mistake? Or was it actually meant to be attached somewhere else? 
. I wonder if they've ever been seen by anyone else, or if they've been locked away in a secret vault somewhere 
. This is the stuff of history nerd dreams! 
! I mean, can you even imagine being part of the process that attached them to the External Tank in 1986? 
It's crazy to think about how little information we have on what happened to them after they were removed from the shuttle. The buyer's research is super interesting btw, I love how they pieced together this cryptic story with Lockheed Martin and NASA's Apollo program 
. And 20% of the damaged tank was recovered? That's amazing! 
? and now they're just sitting in some missile silos waiting for someone to claim them... it's wild that no one knew what was going on with them after they got detached from the shuttle. i mean, can you imagine being at an astronaut event or space show and getting handed a tag like "remove before flight"? 
. Like, can you believe it? These vinyl tags that were supposed to be used as giveaways at astronaut events are actually pieces of history tied to one of the most tragic events in NASA's history 
. It's wild to think about how these tags just kinda... sat around on eBay for years without anyone knowing their true significance 
. And now, they're still trying to figure out what happened to these tags after they left the shuttle... it's like a mystery novel waiting to happen 
.
. I guess you could say it's nice to see some of this history being uncovered, even if it's just by accident 
.
which exploded on its 1st flight in 1986 
. It turns out tht NASA recovered parts of the tank but no one no wut happened 2 the tags 
. Its like these tags r still a mystery 
. I wonder wht happen 2 them 
and now we know they were attached to the External Tank of the Space Shuttle Challenger 
. It's wild that someone bought them on eBay in 2010 thinking they were just for events 
but little did they know their history 
. And now we're left wondering what happened to them after they were taken off 
. It's almost like they were trying to hide their past 
. Maybe it's because they're, like, super rare or something? 
Whatever it is, I'm all about learning more about space history 
.
. It's also a bit weird that Lockheed Martin and NASA's Apollo and Challenger Lessons Learned Program got involved... but I guess that's just part of how space exploration works 
. Maybe now they'll get the respect they deserve as a reminder of the risks taken by astronauts 
.
. The fact that the tags were removed from the shuttle before launch but not until hours after it reached the pad is straight-up crazy... what was going through NASA's mind back then?