[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ve AmericanStudied that moment and a handful of contexts, leading up to this crowd-sourced post featuring the responses of fellow AmericanStudiers!]
Here on the blog, Lauren Coodley comments, “The commission to investigate the cause of the Challenger disaster is a very important piece of history. The engineers who tried to warn NASA, the rush to launch despite the weather, Feynman the physicist who helmed the commission, and the televised hearings, are all worthy of historical inclusion.” [I’m starting with this one not only because I agree, but also because I’d love more comments on the blog! Please share your responses any time you’ve got something to say!]
Over on Bluesky, Betsy Cazden shares, “The NH legal community was heavily invested in it as Christa’s husband Steve was very active in the Bar (later a Federal Judge). He had regaled the Ethics Committee all year with stories about her experience in training. My children were too young (daycare) to be watching, fortunately.”
Marty Olliff writes, “My chemical engineer dad was on one of the Thiokol investigation teams that worked on the cause of the disaster. His team did not come up with the o-ring failure solution, but he was adamant that that was why you read the instructions with the product.”
While New year, same reply guy adds, “Check out Alexandertheok’s video about the space shuttle program if you’re interested in a deep dive into risk management.”
Jim Wald shares, “The most poignant thing for me was watching the parents of Christa McAuliffe watch the launch. It seemed to me they at first did not understand: thought they were watching a stage separation. Until they realized.”
Thanks especially to the great Heather Cox Richardson sharing my posts, I also got lots of other thoughtful responses on Bluesky, which you can find in responses to and quote-posts of those respective hyperlinked posts as well as this one.
And for a fascinating perspective on my own youthful experience witnessing the explosion, Rachel Grace Newman shares, “You might want to check out historian Elena Jackson Albarrán’s piece on methods in the history of childhood, in which she analyzes her own childhood diary—and her memories of the Challenger explosion.”
Next series starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What do you think?
PPS. While I was typing this post, Biscuits added “…………….”
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