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Remembering the Heroes of the Shuttle Challenger- 30 Years Later

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I have always been fascinated by space travel, mainly for the character and bravery of the men and women involved in the space program. I think what I have always admired about astronauts and always looked up to them for is the intersection of several crucial qualities – not only are they academics and incredibly smart, but also collaborative team players, and above all brave. As veteran astronaut John Young said in 1981, when asked if he was nervous before the inaugural flight of the space shuttle, “Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world; knowing they’re going to light the bottom- and doesn’t get a little worried- does not fully understand the situation.”

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This weekend I have been thinking that this upcoming Thursday is the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. I still remember sitting in my 3rd grade classroom on that day, January 28, 1986. For those of us that were in school at that time we remember that the launch of the space shuttle Challenger was being broadcast in classrooms and schools across the country. Interestingly, schools were about the only place the launch was actually being shown live as this was still the early days of cable news and schools were having the launch broadcast via satellite in an arrangement with NASA.

This was due to the unique background of one of the crew members, Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from Concord, NH, had been selected from over 11,000 applicants to train as an astronaut and fly as part of the Teacher in Space program.

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She was to conduct 6 experiments and teach two live lessons from the space shuttle that were to be broadcast to classrooms all over America. The two lessons were called “The Ultimate Field Trip” and “”Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going, Why.” The titles sound as exciting to me today as they did when I was 8, sadly no students were able to experience them. However, the Challenger Foundation has put the lesson plans for her lessons together and has them on their website for anyone that wants to teach them.

I also recall this great story from Carl McNair, the brother of astronaut Ron McNair, another victim of the Challenger accident. I remember hearing this story a few years ago and it really spoke to me about the character, courage, and determination of Ron Mcnair. You can listen to the short story below about how Ron McNair overcame poverty and segregation growing up in South Carolina to end up being only the second African-American to go into space at that time.


Although I have talked about Christa McAuliffe and Ron McNair above, all of the men and women aboard the Challenger had incredible accomplishments and stories to tell. For instance, veteran astronaut and mission specialist Judith Resnik was the first Jewish-American and first Jewish woman in space. In addition, veteran astronaut and mission specialist Ellison Onizuka was the first Asian-American in space. Many people may still not realize how many groundbreaking individuals we lost that day.

I still remember exactly where I was sitting in class that day watching the launch. I remember being fixed to the TV for all of 73 seconds as the shuttle Challenger ascended. I remember seeing the explosion on the TV and not knowing what had happened. I remember the look on my teacher’s face as she looked at our confused faces and was speechless, her being fully aware of what had just happened. I remember the follow up investigations, conclusions, and dedications.

But the thing I remember most of all are the heros, the astronauts that gave all and the incredible stories of their lives. I thank them all for continuing to inspire me 30 years after their tragic passing. Hopefully, this current generation will have the same caliber of heroes.

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“The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them — this morning, as they prepared for their journey, and waved good-bye, and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.'” – President Ronald Reagan, address to the nation after the Challenger disaster.

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