Some Reactions After the Challenger Explosion (ContributorNetwork)

The space shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986, with its seven-member crew was the most traumatic disaster of its type in history. It occurred before a live audience, broadcast around the world in real time.

While the causes of the disaster have been covered ad infinitum, there were some little noted reactions that bear touching on.

President Ronald Reagan Addresses the Nation

On the day the Challenger was destroyed, President Reagan was putting the finishing touches on the State of the Union speech. It had been hoped he would be able to mention the space shuttle mission, which would have been in orbit at the time, with Christa McAuliffe, the teacher in space.

Instead, Reagan gave another speech, in a televised address to the nation recorded at the Teaching American History page. The speech, one of the most moving of his presidency, had everything a memorial speech should have. It touched on the sacrifices of the crew and the importance of the space program. It had a historical reference to Francis Drake, who died at sea. It ended with a quote from "High Flight," the greatest aviation poem ever written. He said that the Challenger crew had "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" to "touch the face of God."

Three days later, Reagan journeyed to the Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston to give another comforting speech, this time to the bereaved space workers who felt keenly the devastating loss. He had something fitting to say about each of the fallen Challengers. He gave the requisite vow to continue the space program and to not give up exploration in the face of tragedy.

The Challenger Center

In an attempt to turn tragedy into something positive, the families of the Challenger crew, particularly June Scobee (now June Scobee-Rogers), herself a teacher, created the Challenger Center for Space Flight Education. There are Challenger Centers across the U.S., in Canada, Great Britain and South Korea. The mission of the Challenger Center is to further science education through a variety of programs, including training teachers in the art of teaching science.

Challenger Memorials

There are a number of Challenger Memorials, including one at Arlington National Cemetery and a Space Shuttle Memorial Park near the Johnson Spaceflight Center. The film "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" contained a tribute, "The cast and crew of Star Trek wish to dedicate this film to the men and women of the spaceship Challenger whose courageous spirit shall live to the 23rd century and beyond..." Seven asteroids were named for each of the Challenger crew. According to NASA, craters on the moon have also been named after the Challenger Seven.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker . He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120129/us_ac/10899887_some_reactions_after_the_challenger_explosion

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