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.