The explosion of NASA space shuttle Challenger shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986, shocked the nation. The twenty-fifth shuttle flight had been dubbed the "Teacher in Space" mission; the plan was to excite children about the possiblity of space travel by having a teacher deliver televised lectures from the orbiting shuttle. Christa McAuliffe, a high-school social studies teacher, was chosen for the expedition after a highly publicized nationwide search. Other crew members included Michael Smith (pilot), Dick Scobee (commander), Judith Resnik (mission specialist), Ronald McNair (mission specialist), Ellison Onizuka (mission specialist), and Gregory Jarvis (payload specialist). None survived the disaster. The cause of the explosion was eventually traced to faulty gaskets known as O-rings. Coming at a time when the United States space program had seemingly regained its footing after two decades of decline, it forced many to grapple with the risks associated with pioneering technologies. Nowhere was the need for explanation more pressing than in the nation's classrooms, where children had gathered to witness the wonders of space travel.

Further Reading:

Coote, Rodgers. Air Disasters. New York, Thomson Learning, 1993.

Penley, Constance. NASA/Trek: Popular Science and Sex in America. New York, Verso, 1997.

"51-L (25)." http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/mission s/51-l/mission-51-l.html. January 1999.