The Space Shuttle 'Challenger' Disaster

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.

The challenger disaster called for certain changes in the NASA organizational structure, culture and operations. The Rogers Commission carried out a full investigation into the causes of the disaster and recommended to NASA certain actions to mitigate future incidents. First of all, there was a creation of a Solid Rocket Motor Joint redesign team who would also analyse the sealing system (NATA Technical Reports Centre, 2010).

Seventy three seconds into its 10th flight, on January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing the seven crew members on board [1]. The Challenger was the second space shuttle constructed by NASA and had completed nine successful missions prior to the disaster. Following the accident, the shuttle program was suspended for 32 months as President Ronald Regan appointed a Commission, chaired by William P. Rogers and known as the Rogers Commission, to investigate the cause of the accident [1].

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

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.

After nearly a five day delay filled with wind, rain, and freezing temperatures, Challenger was finally ready to go on mission 51-L. It would be the twenty-fifth mission for the world's first fleet of reusable manned spaceships. A spike in public interest in the flight had been caused by the

Rhetorical situation is connected with the catastrophe of shuttle "Challenger" of January 28, 1986. In the beginning of the mission STS-51L the spacecraft exploded on 73 seconds into the flight, causing the death of all seven crewmembers. The shuttle disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean near the central part of Florida peninsula.

In the speech that Ronald Reagan gave about the Space Shuttle Challenger gave peace of mind to the nation that was mourning about such a devastating event that they witnessed. The Space Shuttle Challenger was the first space shuttle that had a normal person on it and was going to be a huge leap forward for the space program. But the shuttle had a malfunction and blew up during the employment of going into space. They were not sure what exactly happened when it blew up, they just knew that the whole nation just witnessed a tragic event live on the radio and television. It was Ronald Reagan’s job to address the grieving public about what happened and to express their condolences, but also express their strength that would carry the nation through.

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.

On January 28th, 1986, Ronald Reagan, president of the United States, in his speech entitled “Challenger Disaster,” discusses the space shuttle tragedy. He supports this claim by first mourning the accident, then promoting NASA, tries to make sense of the disaster, and finally honors the astronauts. Through Reagan’s use of tone, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical tools he effectively persuades Americans to mourn the loss, but also continue to move forward and support advancement.

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.

People stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a plume of smoke and fire. After the flame you couldn’t see the aircraft, because it was engulfed by smoke suggesting that the shuttle had exploded. Red smoke was emitting after the explosion due to the reaction control system burning from the wreckage. The challenger pieces began plummeting to the ocean below. Millions watched the terrible moment occur on live television.

Investigations started after the explosion. People and NASA workers were trying to figure out what had caused the explosion. After the Challenger exploded it fell in to the water below. They were able to recover some of the spacecraft and gear. All 7 people on the Challenger were instantly killed.

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.