On 28 January 1986, millions watched in stunned silence as NASA’s space shuttle Challenger exploded in the skies above Cape Canaveral, Florida moments after launch. All seven US astronauts on board died.
Described as the ‘world’s worst space disaster,’ the tragedy raised questions about whether the US space programme had become too ambitious, some in the states even asking if manned space missions should be abandoned altogether.
As the grim task of searching debris from the Challenger began, American started to mourn its ‘space heroes’.
President Ronald Reagan described the tragedy as “a national loss”.
Despite the loss of life, Congress, backed by the president, wanted to fund a new space shuttle, once lessons had been learned from the failed mission.
The much anticipated presidential commission report on the tragedy, headed by former senator William Rodgers, was highly critical of NASA. Rodgers claimed warnings about the solid booster rockets, which caused the explosion, were ignored as far back as 1978.
Having kept faith with its space programme, the US held its breath in 1988 as the Discovery space shuttle sent its five-man crew into orbit. NASA’s first manned launch since Challenger was a success.
