Space+shuttle+Challenger+disaster+on+January+28,+1986+-+Group+3

=The Challenger Explosion of 1986=

==Overview== "We'll continue out quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space," stated President Reagan to the nation within hours of the //Challenger// tragedy. The first reaction was shock, horror, grief. The second, and almost reflexive, response by public officials to the //Challenger// catastrophe was determination to push on with an ambitious program of manned space flights. William Graham, NASA's acting administrator, asserted the next day that "the space shuttle is our principal space transportation system; it will remain our principal space transportation system for the future."

Main Point
The //Challenger// killed all seven of its astronauts on board. The five men and two women - including the first teacher in space - were about over a minute into their flight from Cape Canaveral in Florida when the shuttle blew up. The astronauts' families, at the airbase, and millions of Americans witnessed the world's worst space disaster live on TV. The //Challenger//'s flight had been delayed because of bad weather - high winds and icicles caused the launch to be postponed from January 22nd.

Conclusion
The cause of the explosion of the //Challenger// was when an O-ring seal on its right solid rocket booster failed. The O-ring failed to seal due to a variety of factors, including unusually cold temperatures. After the explosion of the //Challenger//, NASA grounded all shuttles, which was a huge setback on the entire U.S. space program. Once the shuttle flights resumed, it took NASA a period of time to catch up to their flight schedule. 1986 would have been NASA's biggest year since the heady days of the Apollo moon-landing program. By the next launch, NASA was confident that it had finally gotten the bugs out.

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References (2009-10.1.2.C)
Church, George J. "Putting the Future on Hold." //Time// 10 Feb. 1986. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. .