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challenger space shuttle
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On January 28, 1986, the American shuttle Challenger was completely destroyed 73 seconds after liftoff, a catastrophic end to the shuttle's tenth mission. This disaster took the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. One of those astronauts was a teacher, Christa McAuliffe, who was selected to go on the mission and still teach but teach to students all over the United States from space. It was later determined that two rubber O-rings, which had been designed to separate the sections of the rocket booster, had failed because of cold temperatures on the morning of the launch. This tragedy and the aftermath received widespread media coverage and urged NASA to temporarily suspend all shuttle missions.
NASA introduced to the world, in 1976, the first reusable manned spacecraft. This became known as the space shuttle. Five years later, in 1981, space flights began with Columbia. Columbia ascended into space for a 54 hour orbiting mission. Later, it descended back to earth, as if it was a regular airplane that just took passengers from Boston to Detroit. Columbia only had two crewmembers, Commander John Young and Pilot Bob Crippen. Columbia completed 27 missions before disintegrating in the descent of its 28th mission in 2003. Challenger was NASA’s second space shuttle. Its first mission was April 4, 1983. Challenger made nine journeys into space, before that tragic January day.
In 1986, the Challenger crew met at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for countdown training. The crew of this shuttle included two civilians and five astronaut members: “Teacher-in-Space” payload specialist Christa McAuliffe; payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Dick Scobee, mission commander; Ronald E. McNair, mi...
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...missions, including the repair and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope and the construction of the International Space Station. Yet every January, NASA pauses to remember the last crew of Challenger, and the other crews lost in pursuing space, on a NASA Day of Remembrance. This tragic day will always be remembered as the day that changed space program forever.
Works Cited
"1986 Challenger Disaster." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web.
"Challenger Disaster." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
Dunbar, Brian. "Remembering the Challenger Crew." NASA. NASA, n.d. Web.
Dunbar, Brian. "Space Shuttle Overview: Challenger (OV-099)." NASA. NASA, 12 Apr. 2013. Web.
Reagan, Ronald. "Speech on the Challenger Disaster | Teaching American History." Teaching American History. N.p., n.d. Web.
"The Unified Republic of Stars." The Unified Republic of Stars. N.p., n.d. Web.
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 Ocean. All seven crew members aboard were killed in the crash as America helplessly watched. A faulty O-ring in the right solid rocket booster was said to have been the cause of the crash. Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, was in office at the time of this tragic event. President Reagan was scheduled to deliver his State of the Union Address that same evening. His intentions were to mention the Challenger and the significance of that particular mission during his speech. This would not be the case following the events of that day.
While seated in the Oval Office of the White house, January 28, 1986 President Ronald Reagan delivers his speech The Challenger Disaster; hours after the space shuttle The Challenger explodes while in take off. Thousands witnessed this horrifying event live in person and on television. This mission was very unique allowing the first civilian to ever be allowed in space during a mission. She was aboard The Challenger as an observer in the NASA Teacher in Space Program. Ironically, nineteen years before this disaster, three astronauts were tragically lost in an accident on the ground. President Reagan remembers those astronauts that were lost not only the day of the disaster, but also those who were lost nineteen years before. He conducts this speech not only to mourn the death of The Challenger astronauts, but for the families and those who were impacted from this event. He especially calls out to the schoolchildren of America who were watching this event live as the shuttle took off. As the President of the United States, Reagan earned the nickname "The Great Communicator" due to his ability to convey his beliefs concerning economic and domestic policies to the public. This speech is just one example of how well Reagan spoke to the American public on a personal level and profoundly influenced the nations confidence in itself after this tragic event.
In a person’s lifetime, many things can happen including death. In 1986 seven individuals, Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnic, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe, lost their lives doing what they loved most. The tragedy of the shuttle challenger brought much pain to the nation that day. Along with the pain comes grieving. The nation grieved the loss of these seven wonderful individuals and hoped to find peace and comfort for the days to come. As Ronald Reagan prepared to give the state of the union address, things changed for worse, he unexpectedly had to give a speech on a horrific event. Reagan was devastated at the loss of the seven men and women that were on that space shuttle challenger.
The people on board the shuttle on January 28, 1986 were Lieutenant Ellison Onizuka, an Air Force Officer; Commander Michael Smith, a Navy officer; Christa McAuliffe, a high-school teacher in New Hampshire; Dick Scobe, a Navy officer; Greg Jarvis, an engineer; Judy Resnik, an astronaut; and Ronald McNair, an astronaut.
HALVORSON, TODD. "As uncertainty grows over future of U.S. human spaceflight, NASA workers grow anxious". Gannett News Service. 29 Jan 2010 eLibrary. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
Many things happened before the challenger exploded into fire. The cost of the space shuttle was around 1.2 billion. (Hanson 26+) To avoid disaster and any troubles, millions of dollars were wasted in attempt to keep the Challenger safe. Many things like Space simulation for failure, computer shut downs, engine failures, and many things along those lines. We all know that it didn't succeed. The Challenger made lift off at Cape Canaveral, Florida. In 1949, this site had been the area where the Air Force tested missiles and missile systems. Many of NASA's shuttles were launched out from here including Gemini and Apollo flights. From 1963 to 1973, the Shuttle site was changed to “Cape Kennedy” in memory of President Kennedy. The Space Shuttle was delayed six days prior to the event, due to rainfall and cold weather exceeding launch regulations. (“Challenger Disaster”). Mil...
He later served NASA as the deputy associate administrator for aeronautics until 1971. He left NASA and then went on to be a professor at the University of Cincinnati. He stayed there for eight years. He also served as the chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation from 1982 to 1992. He helped with the Challenger in 1986. The Challenger exploded taking the lives of the crew and a school teacher.
When the Challenger shuttle was set to launch NASA was feeling political pressure to gain congressional support for the space program, to help gain this support the shuttle crew had a high school teacher on board, Christa McAuliffe, and millions of people were excited and tuned into watch. NASA officials were hoping that this new endeavor would help generate funding since the U.S. budget deficit was soaring and they were afraid that their budget could be cut. Technical failure was the reason the shuttle exploding after take-off but this was not the only reason. With pressure mounting, decisions made by NASA and Morton Thiokol Corporation, the contractor who manufactured the piece with the technical failure, put political agendas in front of the technical decisions, which resulted in the tragedy (Bolman & Deal, 2008).
The Challenger disaster of 1986 was a shock felt around the country. During liftoff, the shuttle exploded, creating a fireball in the sky. The seven astronauts on board were killed and the shuttle was obliterated. Immediately after the catastrophe, blame was spread to various people who were in charge of creating the shuttle and the parts of the shuttle itself. The Presidential Commission was decisive in blaming the disaster on a faulty O-ring, used to connect the pieces of the craft. On the other hand, Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch, in The Golem at Large, believe that blame cannot be isolated to any person or reason of failure. The authors prove that there are too many factors to decide concretely as to why the Challenger exploded. Collins and Pinch do believe that it was the organizational culture of NASA and Morton Thiokol that allowed the disaster. While NASA and Thiokol were deciding whether to launch, there was not a concrete reason to postpone the mission.
President Reagan, at the time in the beginnings of his second term, had successfully maintained overall a high approval rating with the American people. He had won their trust and respect by being quite relatable to the average citizen (Cannon). He had planned that evening to give his State of the Union address, but instead postponed it. The tragedy that had unfolded just hours earlier demanded his complete attention (Eidenmuller 29).
Sear complexity- This was the most complicated launch in history, more so than the Apollo moon landing. This shuttle was reused 9 times prior to this launch. It also had a wide variety of goals and capabilities whereas Apollo had just one, to the moon and back.
Since the presidency of George Washington, the people of The United States have turned to the commander in chief in times of distress to receive assurance and hope. Kurt Ritter comments on President Reagan’s address to the nation given on January 28, 1986 saying, “Perhaps no president could have fulfilled the country’s need to mourn and, then, to begin to heal as skillfully as Ronald Reagan (Ritter, 3).” On that morning the space shuttle “Challenger” violently exploded while the nation watched live televised coverage of the shuttle’s launch. President Reagan was scheduled to give his State of the Union Address on that date, but instead he reached out the country in this time of mourning. He spoke from his oval office to heartbroken teachers, children, NASA Space Engineers, and the entire country. President Reagan’s reaction to the tragedy of the challenger guided the United States out of despair and into a new light of hope behind seven fallen heroes. In this essay I will show that Reagan gave our country a new light of hope through his emphasis on Pathos but also incorporating Ethos and Logos in this memorable presentation.
The Columbia Disaster was one of the most tragic events in space shuttle history. In 2003, space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing the seven astronauts. This essay will explain the major causes of the Columbia disaster which include technical issue and management issues, and illustrate how pressure impacts engineers work at NASA.
The diverse seven-member crew of the Challenger made it very media friendly because a civilian was going into space. The crewmembers were Commander Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. 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 everyday American citizen were involved, they could communicate the excitement of space travel to the American public. President Ronald Reagan made the choice that the first ordinary American to travel into space would be a teacher. 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 anything.
Yet it is the main propelling framework the U.S. has for kept an eye on flight, and it is one that authorities said they plan to use for an additional 20 years before another era of shuttle can be created. As in the result of the Challenger blast, the van program has been suspended until specialists can make sense of a feasible reason for the mishap.