Editorial: Recalling the Challenger tragedy
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 | 8:06 a.m.
It was 20 years ago today that the space shuttle Challenger exploded into a cascade of fire and a clawlike plume of smoke, taking with it the lives of seven astronauts -- including a woman who was to be the first teacher in space.
Teacher Christa McAuliffe, commander Dick Scobee, pilot Mike Smith and astronauts Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka and Judy Resnick perished when an O-ring failed in the seal of a solid rocket booster, causing the shuttle to blow up just after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center on Florida's east coast.
The launch and its horrific conclusion were witnessed firsthand by thousands who stood outside at the space center and throughout Florida. Children across the country watched it on television in their classrooms, and many adults happened to catch the launch on a relatively new network called CNN. Video images of the jagged column of smoke haunted television newscasts for weeks after the actual vapors faded.
An investigation showed that too much attention on tight budgets and public relations resulted in too little attention on the mission's technical aspects. Changes were promised and made, and 17 years later another shuttle -- Columbia -- plummeted to the ground, killing all seven aboard. A piece of foam knocked a hole in its wing.
The shuttle fleet is on the verge of being retired, as NASA sets to work on its next generation of vehicles for manned space flight. The O-ring technology that was improved in the Challenger aftermath will play a role in that new transport system.
Embracing America's space dream -- and the risks that accompany such visions -- is our nature as a nation of explorers. Although the price we pay for moving forward is often costly in human and financial terms, we lose so much more by standing still.
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Live Main Event blog: Cada and Moon set to square off heads-up
- Freddie Roach talks tough; Manny Pacquiao backs it up
- Commercial development in Las Vegas grinding to a halt, analyst says
- Strip sign-lighting ceremony set for Monday
- County considers suing over travel Web site room taxes
- Ensign moves out of home on C Street
- Cada and Moon emerge as Main Event’s final two
- Metro identifies officers, sergeants in 2 fatal struggles
- Temperature to hit 80 today in Las Vegas
- UNLV wins hoops scrimmage at Long Beach State
Blogs
The Kats Report
Buchanan was one of the city's truly flamboyant characters
Sports: Upon Further Review
Fight snapshot: Reviewing "24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto," episode 3
The Kats Report
Life in the Limelight: Wayne Newton (2 Comments)
Politics: Ralston's Flash
An entire campaign in one mail piece for Harry Reid (4 Comments)
Miech Again
On the road to Long Beach, UNLV hoops style (13 Comments)
The Kats Report
Vocal strain prompts Wayne Brady to call off 'Making It Up' until 2010 (1 Comment)
The Greene Room
New Mexico soccer player goes MMA on BYU (16 Comments)
Calendar »
- 8 Sun
- 9 Mon
- 10 Tue
- 11 Wed
- 12 Thu
-
76 Trombones + 4 concert at Artemus Ham Hall
Artemus Ham Hall at UNLV | 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
-
The Smothers Brothers at The Orleans Showroom
The Orleans Showroom
-
Abbacadabra at The Las Vegas Hilton
Las Vegas Hilton
-
Roy Clark at The South Point Showroom
South Point Showroom
-
Zowie Bowie's Vintage Vegas Show at Monte Carlo
Lance Burton Theater
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati








