Space Shuttle Challenger

On January 28th, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight and disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral. All seven crewmembers, commander F. Richard Scobee, pilot Michael J. Smith, mission specialists Ronald McNair, Ellison Nizuka, Judith Rasnic, George Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist and teacher, were killed.

The disaster was triggered by the failure of the primary and secondary redundant O-ring seals in the joint of the shuttle’s right solid rocket booster. On the morning of the launch, record low temperatures had stiffened the rubber O-rings, impairing their ability to properly seal the joints. Shortly after liftoff, the seals were breached. The hot pressurized gas within the solid rocket booster leaked through the joint. It burned through the aft attachment strut that connected it to the external propellant tank and then into the tank itself, leading to the catastrophic event.

The mission of the Challenger was to deploy a communications satellite and study Hailey’s Comet while they were in orbit, in addition to taking schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe into space. Since NASA was promoting the “Teacher in Space Project,” there was immense media interest and coverage, with many viewing the launch and explosion at the site and in classrooms across the United States and the world.

The Teacher in Space Project was initiated in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan. NASA hoped that sending a teacher into space would increase public interest in the space shuttle program, thereby finding much-needed financial support. Reagan also said it reminded Americans of the essential roles of teachers and education.

McAuliffe was one of more than 11,000 applicants, and when she was announced as one of the ten finalists, she went through a series of medical examinations, briefings, and interviews.

Vice President George H. W Bush announced that McAuliffe had been chosen in 1985, with Barbara Morgan as her backup. The two took a yearlong leave of absence from teaching to train for the space shuttle mission, with her duties being to conduct experiments and teach lessons from space. The classes were to be broadcast to millions of schoolchildren.

When she was young, McAuliffe was inspired by the Project Mercury and the Apollo Moon Landing program. She wrote in her NASA application form that she watched the Space Age being born and wanted to participate.

The reason for writing this editorial, other than to remember the anniversary of the Challenger Disaster, is two weeks after watching it happen on TV, I was in Florida with my parents, and we took a tour of Cape Canaveral, which we had scheduled months in advance because of the space program. It was a somber experience and one I will never forget.

On a side note, Cape Canaveral was renamed Cape Kennedy between 1963 to 1973 by an executive order from President Lyndon Johnson after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Though the name reverted back to Canaveral, many still refer to the space station as Kennedy since he was interested in space exploration with his ultimate goal to be the first country to land on the moon. This dream became a reality on July 20th, 1969 when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first to step foot on the moon’s surface.