The Challenger: America's Space Program

January 28, 1986, marks the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion. A day that will go down in history as a horrible tragedy for both NASA and America. Seven lives were lost that day, including the life of a high school teacher from New Hampshire. Former President Ronald Reagan was tasked with explaining this tragic event to the US people. Because of this, Reagan postponed the State of the Union Address and spoke about the Challenger Explosion instead. In his address to the nation about the explosion of the space shuttle, Challenger, President Ronald Reagan effectively commemorates the loss of the Challenger crew while also celebrating the crew’s achievements and encouraging further space travel by establishing pathos through his show of empathy, employing strong positive connotation, and alluding to the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake.

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 January 28th, 1986, Americans watched in shock and horror as the space shuttle Challenger exploded only 74 seconds after its launch, killing all seven crew members on board including a high school teacher Christa McAuliffe. Thousands, including families of the crew and schoolchildren

Following the detonation of two atomic bombs over Japan and the closure of World War II, the United States of America and the Soviet Union entered a period of ideological conflict, the Cold War. The United States sought to preserve and protect democracy throughout the world while the Soviet Union established communist satellite states. During the Cold War, the United States government pushed for the expansion of the United States space program in an attempt to demonstrate power and innovation over the Russians, and in doing so, accelerated the process of space exploration and endangered the lives of their astronauts.

On January 28, 1986, as millions of Americans watched on live television and in person, the Challenger space shuttle exploded and broke up over the Atlantic Ocean just moments after its launch. This space mission was significant for several reason, among them was that it would be the first time where the space shuttle would carry a civilian into outer space. Also, there was a frenzy of interest for Americans as the U.S. and Russians were locked in a space race for space exploration supremacy. Instead. President Ronald Reagan was left with the unenviable duty of consoling a nation that had just witnessed the most significant disaster in American history.

The case study of the two shuttle disasters, the Challenger occurred on January 28th 1986, and the Columbia occurred on February 1st, 2003. Both majestic and yet mournful due to the loss of life on both mission. The Challenger shuttle flight, OV-099 mission STS-51-L, broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of all crew members which included five astronauts and two payload specialists. The Challenger disaster was especially traumatic because young students watched television that were placed in their classrooms so they could watch the launch that day. It was fascinating that a school teacher was on-board as a payload specialist (NASA, 1986.) With a school teacher aboard the flight, it had sparked many interests because at several at young age, understood that education was vital as to why there was such a failure and prevent future disasters.

Then came the disaster that would change not only change space, but also US history. The Challenger exploded mid-flight on their way to their historic mission. What went wrong? What actually happened to cause a veteran space shuttle such as Challenger to dysfunction on its tenth run? A videotape showed black smoke coming from the bottom field joint of the right solid rocket booster (SRB). The black smoke suggested that grease, joint insulation, and rubber O-rings were being burned. The smoke continued to come from the bottom field joint facing the exterior tank in cycles of three puffs of smoke per second. The black smoke was an indication that the bottom field joint was not sealing correctly. Into flight the a flame was seen coming from the right SRB. The flame was coming from the underside of the bottom joint. As the flame increased in size, it had begun to push against the external tank due to the rushing air around the orbiter. Soon later there was a sudden chain of events that destroyed Challenger and the seven crew members on

Well known president, Ronald Reagan, in his address to the nation, “Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” expresses grief for the explosion of the Challenger. Reagan’s purpose is to commemorate the seven men and women, who lost their lives and offer hope to those who will continue to explore space. He creates a sad, yet hopeful tone in order to convey to America, we all mourn the loss of the Challenger Seven, but our space program will continue.

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.

America’s space program is undoubtedly one of its greatest modern achievements. Few people cannot recall the famous quote “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” or do not know where it came from. The story leading up to the moment a man walked on the moon, as well as everything that came after, is just as interesting and important as the moment itself. The significance of the history of America’s aeronautics programs cannot possibly be overestimated, and their story is one that is incredibly important to the modern world of today. It would not be the nation that it is, with the technology it possesses, without its crucial involvement in the “space race”. If the technology that sent a man to the moon did not exist, our daily lives would be impacted and basic tools would be missing. Beginning with America’s first official aeronautics organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (or NACA) and continuing through to the present day and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (or NASA), the story of America’s aerospace programs is interesting and extremely important. It is a story that spans many years and giant leaps in technology, and involves important locations like Wallops Flight Facility and Kennedy Space Center. From the early beginnings of NACA and Wallops, and continuing on to the rise and success of NASA and Kennedy Space Center, aeronautics

On January 28th, 1986, the Challenger shuttle exploded shortly after liftoff killing all seven of the crew members. Almost everyone in America, including hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren were watching. This disaster meant that Ronald Reagan would have to address the issue. He answered this call with the Challenger Disaster Address. In this speech, he not only comforted the families of the astronauts, but also the rest of the nation by rebuilding faith in the space program. Reagan exibited empathy in his tone, while keeping a strong demeanor.

Perhaps no greater tragedy defines the American Race for Space than the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger before millions of Americans as they watched on live TV in 1986. Building on two decades of successful space exploration kicked off by President Kennedy before his death, by the early eighties the American culture both believed that it was our right to fly into space and that no one did it better than we did. NASA had sent mission after mission into space over more than twenty years, each one accomplishing space exploration goals and building the reputation that America owned the stars. That day in January of 1986 was supposed to be another of those successes as the Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying not only professional astronauts into space but also one everyday person, teacher Christa McAuliffe. Instead, the world watched as after seventy-three seconds after liftoff hopes and dreams exploded with the Challenger - leaving astronauts dead, the space program in jeopardy and America grieving and looking for answers. How leadership responded, what they said and did, would be really important to how the nation dealt with the loss and to the future of the space program. The man for the job was President Ronald Reagan, whose address to the nation appealed to the public on an emotional and logical level and helped to ensure that they

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.

Lecturer: Professor M.Kiru United States International University Name : Hassan Fauzia Hussein ID no: 637076 Lecturer: Professor M.Kirubi Course : Business Ethics and Values Assignment two.   Table of contents The space shuttle challenger disaster of 1986…………………………………………………………………….3 The ethical issues of the space shuttle challenger disaster of 1986 ……………………………………5-7 References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 THE SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER DISASTER OF 1986

One of the greatest tragedies in history occurred on January 8, 1986. Shortly after it was launched, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire schoolteacher chosen to be the first teacher in space (“Challenger Disaster, n.d.). The explosion was caused by a failure of the O-rings of the solid rocket boosters. The O-rings were unable to seat properly, causing the leaking of hot combustion gases, which burnt through the external fuel tank. The malfunction was not any one person’s or organization’s fault; it was caused by many factors including the decision to launch despite the cold weather, the poor communication between management levels of the National Aeronautics and