Disaster in the Sky

10, 9, 8, 7 . . .

    It was January 28, 1986. The morning was unusually chilly for Florida. The space shuttle Challenger was about to blast off. Seven crew members were strapped into their seats. 

    In many ways, this would be a typical mission. The American space shuttle program was now in its 14th year. The Challenger would be launched into space. It would orbit Earth and land back on the ground. 

    But there was something different about this mission. 

    One of the astronauts wasn’t actually an astronaut. Her name was Christa McAuliffe. She was a 37-year-old high school teacher from New Hampshire. And she was the first private citizen chosen for a space mission.

    The whole country was excited. Just imagine! A teacher going to space! Kids in classrooms sat in front of TVs. Crowds gathered outside the launch site in Florida. Everyone got ready for what would surely be a thrilling moment. 

    At 11:38 a.m., the rockets fired. The shuttle rose slowly at first. It gained speed, rising higher and higher in the winter sun.  

    Then disaster struck.

    Fire shot out from one of the rockets. A fuel tank exploded.

    On the ground, people were confused. Then the awful truth became clear: The Challenger had been destroyed. 

    All seven crew members had been lost.

    How could this have happened?

10, 9, 8, 7 . . .

    It was January 28, 1986. The morning was unusually cold for Florida. The space shuttle Challenger was about to blast off. Seven crew members were strapped into their seats.

    In many ways, this was a normal mission. The American space shuttle program was in its 14th year. The Challenger would be launched into space. It would orbit Earth and then land.

    But there was something different about this mission.

    One crew member wasn’t an astronaut. Her name was Christa McAuliffe. She was a 37-year-old teacher from New Hampshire. She was the first private citizen chosen for a space mission.

    The whole country was excited. Just imagine! A teacher going to space! Kids in classrooms sat in front of TVs. Crowds gathered outside the launch site in Florida. Everyone got ready for a thrilling moment.

    At 11:38 a.m., the rockets fired. The shuttle rose slowly at first. Then it sped up. It rose higher and higher in the air.

    Then disaster struck.

    Fire shot from one of the rockets. A fuel tank exploded.

    On the ground, people were confused. Then they understood: The shuttle had been destroyed. All seven crew members had died.

    How could this have happened?

10, 9, 8, 7 . . .

    It was January 28, 1986. The morning was unusually chilly for Florida. The space shuttle Challenger was about to blast off. Seven crew members were strapped into their seats.

    In many ways, this would be a typical mission. The American space shuttle program was now in its 14th year. The Challenger would be launched into space. It would orbit Earth and land back on the ground.

    But there was something different about this mission.

    One of the astronauts, Christa McAuliffe, wasn’t actually an astronaut. She was a 37-year-old high school teacher from New Hampshire, and she was the first private citizen chosen for a space mission.

    The entire country was excited. Just imagine! A teacher going to space! Kids in classrooms sat in front of TVs, and crowds gathered outside the launch site in Florida. Everyone got ready for what would surely be a thrilling moment.

    At 11:38 a.m., the rockets fired. The shuttle rose slowly at first. It gained speed, rising higher and higher in the winter sun.

    Then disaster struck.

    Fire shot out from one of the rockets. A fuel tank exploded.

    On the ground, people were confused. Then the awful truth became clear: The Challenger had been destroyed.

    Humans have always been amazed by space. But sending a person into space wasn’t possible until the mid-1900s. It took hard work from many experts in math, science, and engineering. In 1958, the U.S. government created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its mission is to explore space. 

   The Soviet Union sent the first human into space in 1961. (The Soviet Union was a huge country that existed from 1922 to 1991.) A few weeks later, NASA sent its first astronaut. Within 10 years, NASA astronauts had orbited Earth and walked on the moon.

    By the time the Challenger launched in 1986, NASA had sent more than 50 astronauts into space. The Challenger itself had already flown nine missions without a problem.

    In the history of NASA, not one person had died in flight. Until now.

    Humans have always been amazed by space. But sending a person into space wasn’t possible until the mid-1900s. It took hard work from experts in math, science, and engineering. In 1958, the U.S. government created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its mission is to explore space.

    The Soviet Union sent the first human into space in 1961. (The Soviet Union was a huge country that existed from 1922 to 1991.) A few weeks later, NASA sent its first astronaut. Within 10 years, NASA astronauts had orbited Earth and walked on the moon.

    By the time the Challenger launched in 1986, NASA had sent more than 50 astronauts into space. The Challenger had flown nine missions.

    In the history of NASA, no one had died in flight.

    Until now.

    Humans have always been fascinated by space, but sending a person into space wasn’t possible until the mid-1900s. It required hard work from many experts in math, science, and engineering. In 1958, the U.S. government created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its mission is to explore space.

    The Soviet Union, a huge country that existed from 1922 to 1991, sent the first human into space in 1961. A few weeks later, NASA sent its first astronaut—and within 10 years, NASA astronauts had orbited Earth and walked on the moon.

    By the time the Challenger launched in 1986, NASA had sent more than 50 astronauts into space. The Challenger itself had already flown nine missions without a problem.

    In the history of NASA, not a single person had died in flight.

    Until now.

    But something had happened the night before. Not many people knew about it. A group of engineers had urged NASA not to launch. 

    These engineers worked for a company called Morton Thiokol. NASA had hired them to design rocket boosters for the shuttle program.

    On earlier missions, the engineers had noticed something troubling. Fuel had leaked from some of these rockets. A major explosion could occur. 

    The risk seemed to be greater in cold weather. The engineers were clear: Do not launch. They sent charts and data to NASA to explain why.

    But NASA seemed to want to push ahead. The whole country was watching. Plus, the shuttle program was already behind schedule. It was costing a lot of money. 

    The engineers and NASA debated for two hours. In the end, Thiokol backed down. Leaders at the company did not want to upset NASA. They didn’t want to lose millions of dollars in future business. 

    A Thiokol official signed off on the launch.Then the next morning, everyone’s worst fears came true. The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch.

    But something had happened the night before. Not many people knew about it. A group of engineers had urged NASA not to launch.

    The engineers worked for a company called Morton Thiokol. They designed rocket boosters for NASA.

    On earlier missions, they had noticed something. Fuel had leaked from some of the rockets. That could cause an explosion.

    The risk seemed to be greater in cold weather. The engineers were clear: Do not launch.

    But NASA seemed to want to go ahead. The whole country was watching. Plus, the shuttle program was already behind schedule. It was costing a lot of money.

    The engineers and NASA argued. Thiokol backed down. Leaders at the company did not want to upset NASA. They didn’t want to lose millions of dollars in future business.

    A Thiokol official signed off on the launch. Then the next morning, everyone’s worst fears came true. The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch.

    However, something had happened the night before—something that was not generally known. A group of engineers had urged NASA not to launch.

    These engineers, who worked for a company called Morton Thiokol, had been hired by NASA to design rocket boosters for the shuttle program.

    On earlier missions, the engineers had noticed something troubling. Fuel had leaked from some of these rockets. A major explosion could occur.

    The risk seemed to be greater in cold weather. The engineers were clear: Do not launch. They sent charts and data to NASA to explain their concerns.

    But NASA seemed determined to push ahead. The whole country was watching. Plus, the shuttle program was already behind schedule. It was costing a lot of money.

    The engineers and NASA debated for two hours. Eventually, Thiokol backed down. Leaders at the company were reluctant to upset NASA leaders and risk losing millions of dollars in future business.

    A Thiokol official signed off on the launch.Then the next morning, everyone’s worst fears came true. The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch.

    The Challenger disaster shook the country. Anyone who was alive in 1986 could probably tell you where they were that day. People wanted answers.

    President Ronald Reagan created a commission. Its job was to look into what caused the disaster. 

    The commission included scientists, astronauts, and lawmakers. In June 1986, it delivered a 200-page report. 

    The report stated that one of the Challenger’s rockets had failed. A part called the O-ring had stopped working in the cold weather—just as the Thiokol engineers had feared.

    But the O-rings were not the only issue reported. The commission also said there were problems at NASA. NASA was trying to launch shuttles too often. The schedule wasn’t safe. They also needed to communicate better and do more testing. 

    Would a space shuttle ever fly again?

    The Challenger disaster shook the country. How could it have happened? People wanted answers.

    President Ronald Reagan created a commission. Its job was to look into what caused the disaster.

    The commission included scientists, astronauts, and lawmakers. In June 1986, it delivered a report.

    The report said that one of the Challenger’s rockets had failed. A part called the O-ring had stopped working in the cold weather, just as the Thiokol engineers had feared.

    But that wasn’t all. The report said there were problems at NASA. NASA was trying to launch shuttles too often. The schedule was not safe. The space agency also needed to communicate better and do more testing.

    Would a space shuttle ever fly again?

    The Challenger disaster shook the country. Anyone who was alive in 1986 could probably tell you where they were that day. People wanted answers.

    President Ronald Reagan created a commission tasked with looking into what caused the disaster.

    The commission—which included scientists, astronauts, and lawmakers—delivered a 200-page report in June 1986.

    The report stated that one of the Challenger’s rockets had failed. A part called the O-ring had malfunctioned in the cold weather—just as the Thiokol engineers had feared.

    But the O-rings were not the only issue reported. The commission also said there were problems at NASA. NASA was trying to launch shuttles too often. The schedule wasn’t safe. The space agency also needed to communicate better and do more testing.

    Would a space shuttle ever fly again?

    It would be nearly three years before another shuttle was launched. During that time, NASA made important changes. Engineers also designed new rocket boosters. These rockets never failed. 

    Today it has been 40 years since that chilly January day. And the Challenger has not been forgotten. 

    In the months after the disaster, the families of the crew founded the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. To date, more than 6 million kids around the world have gone through its programs. 

    McAuliffe would be proud. She may have never gotten to teach her lessons from space. But she continues to inspire students to learn—and reach for the stars.

    It was nearly three years before another shuttle was launched. In that time, NASA made important changes. Engineers also designed new rocket boosters. These rockets never failed.

    It has now been 40 years since that cold day in Florida. And the Challenger has not been forgotten.

    In the months after the disaster, the families of the crew founded the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. To date, more than 6 million kids around the world have gone through its programs.

    McAuliffe would be proud. She never got to teach her lessons from space. But she still inspires students to learn—and reach for the stars. 

    It would be nearly three years before another shuttle was launched. During that time, NASA made important changes. Engineers also designed new rocket boosters, which never failed.

    Today it has been 40 years since that chilly January day—and the Challenger has not been forgotten.

    In the months after the disaster, the families of the crew members founded the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. To date, more than 6 million kids around the world have gone through its programs.

    McAuliffe would be proud. She may have never gotten to teach her lessons from space, but she continues to inspire students to learn—and reach for the stars.