challenger :: essays research papers

The Challenger Explosion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even some sixteen years later I still remember the day and what I was doing when I heard that the space shuttle Challenger had exploded. I was five years old in 1986, attending elementary school and being a normal five year old. On Tuesday January 28, 1986 I was home sick from school being babysat by my grandmother because my parents were at work. I knew that day was important because we had talked about the space launch in school and planned on watching it that day. The space launch was extra special this time because it was going to be the first time a civilian would go into space and this was no ordinary civilian it would be a high school teacher named Christa McAuliffe. Just like everyone else tuned into the television that morning I witnessed before my eyes the worst space disaster to date.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dubbed the most memorable moment of the 80’s the Challenger explosion was the 80’s children most memorable event. There were several reasons that the explosion has had such an affect on my generation. The space launch was being broadcasted across United States live from Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Mahal). This launch was one of the most publicized launches due to the first civilian going into space and also that the launch had been delayed five times before (Mahal).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The launch took place on January 28, 1986 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Mahal). The skis about Kennedy Space Center were clear and the sun was out in the sky. However the day was very cold the temperature were only slightly above freezing. This launch was going to be the coldest that NASA had ever launched before. The time of lift off was 11:38 AM Eastern Standard Time this was when the 25th shuttle mission lifted off headed towards space.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The shuttle would never make it into space it exploded only seventy-three seconds after liftoff killing all seven members of its crew. The video footage of the explosion is the most haunting thing about the moment. It would be played over and over again throughout the day. The footage never seemed to get any less shocking you could watch it a hundred times and still be transfixed by a massage space shuttle blowing up into oblivion. The explosion was blamed on the O-rings, a set of gaskets that sealed the joints between the rocket booster sections failed due to being exposed to cold weather.