Tag Archives: Space Shuttle Challenger

There are certain critical moments in American history that leave a permanent mark on the minds and memories of the people who witnessed it. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, people could close their eyes and still vividly picture sights of men and women jumping out of the World Trade Center towers to their death. Those who saw live coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or heard soon after the fact still probably remember exactly where they were and what they were doing. This kind of flashbulb memory also applies to the failed launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January of 1986. Of course, the Challenger disaster is notable for the very public and very sudden loss of multiple human lives. In the popular use of the word, the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger mission was an American tragedy, and seven good people were lost in its disintegration. Unfortunately, the real tragedy surrounding the events of the Challenger is that the cause of the problem was probably preventable, and at the very least, the decision to launch was definitely preventable. In physical terms, the failure of the spacecraft as a whole was prompted by an initial … Continue reading