The day was August 27, 1984 when President Ronald Reagan stood before America and made the announcement, “I am directing NASA to begin a search in all of our elementary and secondary schools, and to choose as the first citizen passenger in the history of our space program one of America’s finest – a teacher… When that shuttle lifts off, all of America will be reminded of the crucial role teachers and educators play in the life of our nation. I can’t think of a better lesson for our children and our country.” Many believed it was just another publicity stunt for the history books while others thought it would gain the support educators needed. But it was average people that dreamed of space travel made attainable by Neil Armstrong on July …show more content…
The skies over Florida were clear but the temperatures were below freezing, students gathered in auditoriums around the United States watching in anticipation as the first teacher went into space. Looking back almost 30 years later, it was exciting yet oddly funny how so many Americans all over were crowded around small televisions set watching history. At the time, it may have seemed more of an excuse to miss work or class than it was to watch a civilian go up in Space. There was not much to see of course and many did not understand that a problem had even occurred until the upward stream of smoke ended in an explosion. What was first known as the “Teacher in
Space” project quickly became the Space Challenger Disaster. The Challenger, along with 7 of its crew had perished. The following research is a thorough summary of the events leading up to and following the devastation, including the incidents that took place and the key individuals; the importance of the event in the scheme of U.S. and world history and how the event changed daily life in America and around the world leaving a lasting legacy of emotional
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The crewmembers were Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka; Payload Specialist Gregory Jarvis; Mission Specialist Judith Resnik; Mission Specialist Ronald McNair; Pilot Michael Smith; Commander Dick Scobee and of course Teacher Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire, Connecticut (Romzek, 1987). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wanted to try a new radical approach by trying to rekindle the excitement that once had surrounded the space program. NASA thought that if an ordinary American citizen were involved, they could communicate the excitement of space travel to the American public. President Ronald Reagan made the decision that the first ordinary American to travel into space would be “one of America’s finest, a teacher.” (Romzek, 1987). NASA and President Reagan thought that one of America’s teachers would be the best candidate for the trip because teachers have the ability to communicate to people and get them interested and excited about almost
In the fifties and sixties, television programs were full of the idea of going to space. On December 6, 1957 the Vanguard rocket, which America was waiting for to salve the national pride, was fired. It began to rise and then was sinking back down to Cape Canaveral. It was an erupting into a huge fireball, the pathetic crash was filmed on live television. People began to lose hope; the Russians were heading towards the heavens while they were still on the ground (Document
This flight is still a mystery today. The crew included the captain, Mike J. Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Francis "Dick" Scobee, and Ronald McNair. McAuliffe was the first teacher to get the chance to go to space. All of the missions took placement in The United States Of America and either launched off from The Kennedy Space Center or The Edwards Air Force
NASA wanted to find an "ordinary person," a gifted teacher who could communicate with students while in orbit. McAuliffe became one of more than 11,000 applicants. President Reagan said it would also remind Americans of the important role that teachers and education serve in their country.
Sputnik represented not only a victory of Soviet scientific and technological expertise, but extensively an advantage of the Soviet educational system. They argued that the Russian schools had bred the scientists and engineers who made the accomplishment possible. From another proposition, many thought the United States settled itself next to best in space exploration on account of its educational system was below par. The US had not generated the experts that a progressing scientific and technological era needed. Before 1957, the author of "Let's Talk Sense About Our Schools,” Paul Dean Woodring observed that Americans most often assume due to having more schools and keeping their children in them longer, they must have a better educational system.
After that, Alan Shepard is chosen to be the first man in space and he perfectly landing in the ocean at the end of his space travel. Then, the other six Astronauts lobbed into space one by one, and all of them are eventually landed safely. Hence, the press and media treat them as American Heroes despite their mistakes, such as the Gus Grissom mistakenly pops the top off the capsule at the wrong time. As the result, NASA became the topic of focus for the people all over the country, which spurred by the government’s propaganda and local media reporting. Meanwhile, Edwards Air Force Base is working on the cultivation of astronauts and development of the rocket planes even the public is not paying attention to them. In particular, the legendary
On January 28th 1986 the space shuttle Challenger was set to be sent into space with teacher Christa McAuliffe from New Hampshire as part of its crew. It was colder than normal on that day and engineers from NASA were concerned about possible failure of the O rings of the shuttle. However, their supervisors ignored them and let the shuttle embark on schedule. As a result the challenger exploded before it even exited the atmosphere
There are many astronauts who have taken that step to try and exit Earth’s atmosphere. Most have flown to space and returned to the ground with no problems at all. There are also those who have not been so lucky. Of these space missions, was one of the most anticipated flights in the history of NASA. On January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger was supposed to be the first flight to orbit Earth with a school teacher onboard. Many of the schools around the country were watching the televised launch of Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew of eight. However, just over 1 minute into the launch something went wrong. What happened to the Shuttle Challenger?
On January 28, 1986, the shuttle Challenger broke up after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission. The disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including the families of the astronauts on board, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. Within instants, the spacecraft broke apart and plunged into the ocean, killing the entire crew, traumatizing the nation and throwing NASA’s shuttle program into turmoil.
Look up at the night sky, see the stars, planets and our closest neighbor, the moon. Every human being at one point in his or her life has done this same thing. It is only natural to look up and wonder in awe at whats out there. Human beings are made with an innate desire to expand and explore. In the 1950s when there was no more of Earth to discover, people started looking upwards at the sky to satisfy this internal desire. Hungry for dominance and technological innovation, the United States created NASA and embarked on what would become the greatest voyage in human history. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, space travel and the technology which powered it advanced far beyond what any prior civilization could imagine. Inspiring in humanity hope for a future not on Earth. An analysis of the effects of the NASA space program on the United States reveals a radical shift in educational policies, an influx of new an innovative technologies, and a renewed motivation and hope for the future.
Unfortunately, the United States' space program suffered a major setback following the tragic failure during testing on January 27, 1967. This failure proved fatal when three astronauts were killed during a fire in a command module on the ground. These first casualties of the space program shocked the American public. The testing failure was blamed on NASA by both Congress and the media. The widely presented cause was “inadequate engineering” and the public believed that NASA was emphasizing being first to the moon over the safety of the program. Nevertheless, the astronauts that were killed were hailed as heroes and honored for their ultimate sacrifice (Engdahl 182). The three astronauts chosen to operate the fatal Apollo-based AS-204 test
On October 4th, 1957 the simple action of launching a beachball-sized hunk of metal into our orbit, reshaped the lives of people in the United States and across the world for the next years to come. This small ball of metal was Sputnik, a Soviet satellite with a radio transmitter inside letting out a small “beeping” sound. This object, as unsophisticated as it was, had the power to set the entire country into panic. To US officials this action not only made it clear that the Soviet superpower of Russia was more technologically advanced, but for all we knew they could be putting nuclear warfare into space. To the US this thought was unbearable, and because of this it would go on to set off a race of the century, the Space Race. A race to put technology into space, a race that would change American life at home and in foreign policy. From changes within the school system, to the Red Scare, life would be changed drastically in the years to come, not only in the U.S, but in Russia as well.
On January 28, 1986, a day that was supposed to be filled with excitement and exploration, suddenly turned into a day filled with tragedy and sadness. The space shuttle Challenger was supposed to carry a seven member crew into orbit with one unique member along for this particular mission. Christa McAuliffe was supposed to be the first teacher to go into space as a member of the Teacher in Space Project. Due to this occasion, the media coverage and the number of viewers of this mission was extensive, particularly in schools across the nation. The Challenger lifted off shortly after 11:30 A.M., but tragically only seventy three seconds after takeoff it exploded sending debris and the seven crew members back to earth and into the Atlantic
On the morning of Janurary 28th 1986, the world witnessed in shock and horror what was known as the Challenger disaster as the space shuttle exploded only 73 seconds after its launch, killing all seven crew members onboard including one teacher Christa McAuliffe. Approximately 17 percent of Americans watched the live broadcast of this launch, many of them schoolchildren including those from McAuliffe’s school. From this grave moment emerged an exigency that demands immediate action by the president. Later on that same day, President Ronald Reagan delivered his Challenger address to the nation.
In President Ronald Reagan’s speech, he addresses the situation that occurred between the space shuttle and the Challenger 7 crew at the State of Union. He helped the American public who were sad, confused and shocked about what was going on. The speech was meant to try and make people feel better and to strictly state that the space program will continue at NASA. The Challenger 7 were heroes and they did brilliant work at NASA due to their bravery and courage. In his speech, he used the tone of anguished, proud and uplifting in order to help comfort people to have faith in the American space program after this tragedy.
On 1st of February, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia exploded when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after finished a 16 days mission in space. All seven astronauts were dead because of this incident. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had stopped the space shuttle program for more than two years to investigate this tragedy. In the 16 days period, the astronauts did approximately 80 experiments on different categories, for example, life science and material science [1]. An investigation later has found out that the disaster was caused by a problem on the day that took off on 16th of January.