#christa mcauliffe
Social Distancing: Challenger: The Final Flight (Docu-Series) - #29
Synopsis: When the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986, it was the most shocking event in the history of American spaceflight. The deaths of seven astronauts, including the first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, were watched live on television by millions of viewers. However, what was more shocking was that the cause of the disaster might never be uncovered.
My Take: Many of us were either babies/children or not even born when the Challenger disaster happened, but I think many can recall hearing something about this at least at one point in their life. This series takes an interesting look behind the scenes of the Challenger disaster. I enjoyed learning about the other astronauts on the flight. It seems like when I read or saw discussions about the topic it focused mainly on the teacher – Christa McAuliffe, who was on the flight. It was good to hear about the lives of the others who died in the tragedy. Also, it was interesting learning how NASA worked to improve the racial and gender diversity of the space program, how the decision to send a teacher up in space came about and what the astronaut training process entailed. What was sad and disturbing about this series was of course the untimely deaths of (8) individuals who were on the doomed shuttle, but the fact that those who knew of the deadly risk, under the circumstances, and thus could’ve and should’ve stopped the flight, didn’t, due to the monetary loss that would be suffered. The series highlights what we continue to see in our society, no matter the risk or how much tragedy comes from putting money over lives, sadly, for many, money will always take precedence over lives. This is a good educational series, especially for who’ve always had and interest in the space program and who are not familiar with all that happened with the Challenger disaster.
TODAY IN HISTORY: Remembering teacher Christa McAuliffe, who perished in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 2, 1948.
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