Rhetorical Analysis Of Challenger Disaster By Ronald Reagan

The milestones and achievements made in space exploration have a memorable and inspiring message that is responsible for this effect. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy famously challenged the United States to “commit itself to achieving the goal . . . of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth” (qtd. in NASA Moon). As a result, the nation united in a decade-long campaign to achieve this goal, culminating in the NASA moon landing in 1969. Milestones like the moon landing cannot help but inspire a distinct pride in being a member of the human race. A poll taken in 1971, two years after the moon landing, found that 81% of Americans agreed that “nothing can equal seeing the astronauts land and walk on the moon as it happened live on TV” (qtd. in

This is done by establishing shared values between the speaker and audience and strong uses of pathos. Despite this speech being written by William Safire, it was to be spoken by President Nixon to establish automatic credibility due to him being the leader of the United States, one of the most powerful countries. This use of ethos strengthens the argument of persevering through this difficulty since the persona of the speaker is that of a compassionate, but stern figure that is meant to serve as inspiration as to how the audience should act. In addition, the persona works in conjunction with pathos to evoke strong emotions of sympathy and nationalism. This is seen in the third paragraph where the phrase, “They will be mourned..” is used as an anastrophe to greater emphasize the need to remember and feel sorrow for the brave astronauts who gave their lives to further humanity. Their sacrifice is later built further in the following paragraphs by comparing their achievements to those of ancient times and how they’ll never be forgotten. Safire’s speech utilizes the automatic credibility given by the president and emphasizes key points using rhetorical devices to establish shared values in order to further evoke sympathy and later patriotism from the audience.

The powerful impact of President Kennedy's speech at Rice Stadium on the controversial decision to direct money of the United States towards building a preeminent space program lies in the eloquence and universality with which he weaves his appeal. Through analogies as well as acknowledging and addressing the concerns of those dubious towards the idea of space exploration, Kennedy crafts a persuasive argument, solidified by references to prior explorations and details of economic incentives.

Space has always been an unknown to the humanity, and therefore humanity has in insatiable desire to know as much as possible about the area beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Exploring space can lead to many new and exciting discoveries such as (see hubble, planets, kepler, moon rocks etc). When the United States first entered the realm of space in the [1960s], NASA had much funding. However, the motivation of this funding was not for science – it was political, as the government was determined to beat Russia in the Cold War Space Race. Today, as there is no political motivator as great as the Cold War, NASA is faced with a lack of funding and must make hard decisions. They must decide between the adventure and excitement of sending manned missions

The launch of the Challenger shuttle was highly popular and publicized event because the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had conducted a nationwide search, searching for a teacher to send on the flight. NASA wanted to show people of America and the world that space traveling can be routine like traveling through an airplane. After a long search, NASA found the teacher, Christa McAuliffe. President Reagan was conducting a search addressed to primary and secondary schools looking for an American to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, which is how Ms. McAuliffe heard NASA’s nationwide search on a car radio one evening. She was not sure if she would be able to be part of such exciting adventure when she procrastinated and submitted in her

On the 28th of January 1986 Reagan planned to address the nation with a regular and expected state of the Union address instead he spoke on the tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challengers destruction. Reagan then addresses how there had been other astronauts that had lost their lives nineteen years ago but never as many astronauts while in flight as with Challenger. He follows with a specific message to the families of the event where he spoke of the great character of the crew, of their hunger to explore, and their heart to serve their nation. He even acknowledges that we were still only pioneers who had much to learn about space. The next audience specifically addressed is that of the American schoolchildren were Reagan acknowledges that “it's

Ronald Reagan’s speech while addressing the Challenger disaster is a perfect example of a speech that requires the speaker to meet various rhetorical demands. He speaks at a capacity of a president and at the same time, he speaks at a capacity of a mourner who wants to console a grieving family. In this case, it means that Reagan had multiple issues he needed to settle using one eulogy. There was the need to console the bereaved relatives who were mourning the sudden death of their loved ones. Secondly, the address also needed to address uncertainty surrounding the occasion. A nation and the whole world needed answers of what caused the disaster. He also needed to give confidence of his support to future space programs.

Margaret Lazarus Dean’s novel, Leaving Orbit, revolves around the thought provoking question: What does it mean that a spacefaring nation won't be going to space anymore? However, the question could be transformed to ask how this nation has been impacted by the era of space exploration. While tremendous amounts of scientific information has been gained, the effects on society has transformed the lives of generations. Growing up in a spacefaring nation has allowed citizens to develop a sense of pride in America’s accomplishments while inspiring children to work hard to achieve their goals.

NASA’s Shuttle Program also known as the Space Transportation System, was the first winged manned spacecraft operation to have achieved orbit and land, also the first to use reusable spacecrafts and make multiple flights into various orbits. Although the shuttle program took America to a heighten achievement of orbital transportation, recent closure of the program has baffled many Americans and left questions about the future of the American space missions. The closure of the program by the Obama administration is a short-term allocation of government funds that should be better understood as a strategic move to improve the future stability of the American economy. The budget cuts are part of having a balanced budget that will recuperate

Since the beginnings of our existence as a human race we have been exploring. We have sailed the globe and civilized wilderness frontiers. Now that we have completely explored the earth, we begin to look toward space. Exploring space is an enormous challenge that requires brilliant minds and leaps forward in technology. In order for space exploration to be successful we need it to be a priority. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has long been a pioneer in the field of space exploration, but due to changing political attitude it is at risk to lose much of its funding. NASA should not have its funding reduced because: NASA develops the technology that benefits the public; their missions bring countries together; they are developing technology we will need in the future; and the advance to progress of the human race. The future of humanity will depend on the technological innovations and the international cooperation that NASA facilitates.

Nineteen years ago, seventy-three seconds after liftoff, the space shuttle Challenger exploded and three astronauts lost their lives in a terrible accident on the ground. “ The Space Shuttle ‘Challenger’ Tragedy Address”, delivered by President Ronald Reagan, on 28 January 1986, at the White House, in Washington, D. C. He spoke about the terrible tragedy of the shuttle Challenger, where the nation lost three astronauts. Reagan talk about the mourning and remembering of three legends. He discussed the seven challengers and essentially discourses to the American public and families of seven challengers about the misfortune while comforting, commemorating, and inspiring audiences, especially school children by the use of rhetoric.

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed the Congress on Urgent National Needs and presented them with a challenge — landing a man on the moon. He announced America’s commitment to an ambitious space exploration program, saying :

The great respect and ambition that the president has for the program is at the upmost respect. This brought him great credibility by addressing NASA for what they have accomplished and moving forward with the space program. “We don 't hide our space program. We don 't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public.” Indeed, he wants everyone to know that

“The next wave of human exploration will take explorers farther into the solar system — developing new technologies, inspiring future generations and expanding our knowledge about our place in the universe” (NASA 2)

Manned space exploration is like opening a door to new experiences for astronauts. Resuming manned space exploration is imperative to the United States because it creates a sense of