Man That Could Have Saved The Challenger Was Ignored By NASA
While NASA has produced incredible accomplishments in exploration beyond our planet — from the 1969 moon landing to the triumph of the Mars Rover — it has a darker history, too. The organization's darkest chapter started in 1986 when what was supposed to be an exciting new mission to the stars turned into one of America's most horrific tragedies. But could one man have saved everyone aboard the Challenger?
A Televised Tragedy
On January 28, 1986, seven Americans died in front of an audience of roughly 40 million people, shaking the world to its core. What's worse — their lives could have been saved by a man who was ignored by the masses...
Initial Excitement
Flashback to June 1st, 1985, a year after President Ronald Reagan announced the NASA Teacher In Space project. One teacher out of thousands would be chosen to join six astronauts on the Challenger Space Shuttle.
A Landmark Project
The project was meant to increase public interest in the Space Shuttle program and bolster funding — which NASA certainly needed at the time — while simultaneously stressing the importance of education.
A Teacher in Space
Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, was selected to perform the high honor of giving lectures from space. Ecstatically, she started training for the launch of her life.
