US EditionShe Was Supposed to Be the First Teacher in Space. 40 Years Later, Her Mission Continues
Memorials honor the seven lost crew members and STEM programs inspired by Challenger's legacy engage students nationwide, with the Challenger Center reaching millions annually.
- Forty years ago, Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff, killing its seven-member crew during a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- Thiokol engineers warned the seals risked failure in 36°F launch conditions, but NASA managers overruled them; the Rogers Commission found the decision to launch was flawed.
- Photographic and telemetry data showed early smoke puffs and a flickering flame at the right Solid Rocket Booster joint, with control corrections from 62 seconds and crew activating Personal Egress Air Packs.
- Flights were grounded and redesigns followed, halting shuttle missions for two and a half years while NASA and Kennedy Space Center visitor complex established memorials including the 'Forever Remembered' exhibit.
- The disaster forced lasting safety and cultural reforms across the global space community, while Christa McAuliffe, New Hampshire middle school teacher, was selected from more than 10,000 applicants, shaping education programs.
124 Articles
124 Articles
Marvin Scott remembers Challenger disaster 40 years later
NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Night had fallen when I arrived at the Kennedy Space Center. It was just hours after I, and millions of Americans, were horrified when we watched the shuttle Challenger blow up on live television. My news director didn't send me to cover the launch because by this time, launches had become [...]
Astronaut Had a Close Call Before His Friends Died in the Challenger Explosion. What He Remembers
Former astronaut Terry Hart was onboard the space shuttle Challenger some 20 months before the disasterSmoke billows in the sky above the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. Corbis via GettyNEED TO KNOWFormer astronaut and professor Terry Hart is opening up about the friends and colleagues he lost on board the space shuttle Challenger explosion"We look back and now on the 40th ann…
Challenger Elementary School marks 40th anniversary of Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The program featured Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson, a veteran NASA astronaut who flew five space shuttle missions, including aboard Challenger, Columbia, Atlantis, and Endeavour.
40 years after the Challenger disaster, a key part of the mission continues
By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off 40 years ago with an unusual crew. In addition to six astronauts, the mission took flight with a teacher on board. Christa McAuliffe, the first educator selected for a new Teacher in Space Program, said in a news conference before the flight that she believed the mission would “open up the idea that space is for everybody.” With the goal of inspiring students to indulge…
She was supposed to be the first teacher in space. 40 years later, her mission continues
By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off 40 years ago with an unusual crew. In addition to six astronauts, the mission took flight with a teacher on board. Christa McAuliffe, the first educator selected for a new Teacher in Space Project, said in a news conference before the flight that she believed the mission would “open up the idea that space is for everybody.” With the goal of inspiring students to indulge…
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