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Extraordinary closeout checklist used by Astronaut Support Person Sonny Carter in preparation for the tragic launch of Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, nine double-sided 6 x 8 pages numbered 6-3 to 6-20, with tabs labeled "Pre-Ingress Checklist," "Close-Out Crew Ingress," and "Crew Ingress." The checklist was used by suit technician Al Rochford, a member of the closeout crew, and bears contemporary ballpoint and pencil notations to the first four pages, with some notations on the first page, such as "51L," "Suit Tech-Al Rochford," and "ASP-Sonny Carter." A sixteenth step on the ASP Tool Kit checklist has also been added, "16. Alcohol Wipes & Tissues," as well as information on "Pad 'A'" and "Pad 'B.'" The following page notes adjustments of the headrests of 5.5 inches for Mission Specialist 1 (Ellison Onizuka) and 3 inches for Mission Specialist 2 (Judy Resnik). A few of the other steps have also been crossed out or modified, and each has been checked off in the margin. The final page lists the procedures for the ASP [Astronaut Support Person], giving a poignant, haunting final instruction: "Wave to crew!" This would be their final farewell.
In fine condition, with pages laminated for preservation. Accompanied by a letter of provenance signed by Rochford, in part: "I was the Closeout Crew Suit Technician of the Challenger Shuttle Flight STS-51L. I worked inside the cabin on the morning of the launch, January 28, 1986, with the Astronaut Support Person, ‘ASP,’ Sonny Carter. In his duties that morning, Carter made use of a manual that contains these pages, titled ‘Pre-Ingress Checklist’ which helped him to prepare the cabin of Challenger before crew entry. Afterwards, Carter gave me the pages for my own collection. All notations within the checklist are contemporary to the Preflight and Closeout of the crew ingress of STS-51L.”
The lot is accompanied by additional images of Rochford and Carter helping the astronauts on launch day, with the manual pictured in two screenshots, as well as ephemera related to the tragic mission, including an original ‘Memorial Service’ program for the STS 51-L crew, a Vehicle Permit for the mission’s landing ceremony, photographs of the crew, a crew patch, and a ‘Teacher in Space’ NASA patch.
Space Shuttle Challenger was lost 73 seconds into its tenth flight on January 28, 1986. Cold temperatures had compromised an O-ring seal on one of the shuttle’s two solid rocket boosters, allowing hot gases to escape and burn through the right booster. The resulting damage to the hardware connecting the booster to the vehicle triggered the structural failure of the external fuel tank. The orbiter then broke apart under intense aerodynamic forces, with debris falling into the Atlantic Ocean. The present checklist is a remarkably rare artifact used inside the crew module during the preparations for that ill-fated mission.
