![]() ![]() Much of the excitement centered on Christa McAullife, a teacher from New Hampshire who was to become the first civilian to fly in space. Most of the astronauts were making history of some kind, leaving many different communities in mourning. ![]() But it was the tenth and ultimately ill-fated launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida that was by far the Challenger’s most anticipated, in large part thanks to the unique nature of the crew that was making the journey.Īny disaster of this magnitude is a great tragedy, but the Challenger’s doomed journey felt especially devastating because it carried a crew that reflected the diversity of the United States and multiculturalism that was beginning to emerge after the civil rights era. The shuttle brought the first woman and African American into space, hosted the first space lab and enabled the first astronaut-run satellite repair. The Challenger had flown nine times before over the previous nine years and helped the United States reach several important milestones. Further wall-to-wall coverage and years of retrospectives have seared the grainy image of a faulty rocket bursting into flames and the Challenger and its seven brave passengers veering off course into the national consciousness. On the morning of January 28, 1986, what was meant to be a seminal moment for NASA and the future of space travel turned into a disaster that was viewed on live TV by millions around the country. The explosion that doomed the Challenger space shuttle remains one of the most harrowing and heartbreaking moments in American history. ![]()
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