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Challenger Disaster Essay

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The Challenger was a space shuttle that was planned to launch on January 22, 1986, but the liftoff was delayed due to temperature conditions and other factors. During liftoff, a catastrophe occurred and the shuttle exploded. The disaster struck the hearts of most Americans and other countries. The Challenger space program was the first of its kind for NASA. This was the first time a lesson would be taught from space and children all over the nation were waiting to witness history. The Challenger space explosion was the first major NASA disaster that changed the space program forever.
The Teacher in Space opportunity was released by NASA on November 8, 1984, for a chance to fly in early 1986 (Mars). This was the first attempt at sending civilians …show more content…

The crew for this mission consisted of Ellison S. Onizuka, Barabara R. Morgan, Francis R. Scobee, S. Christa McAuliffe, Judith A. Resnick, Michael J. Smith, and Ronald E. McNair (Mars). McAuliffe and Morgan began training with the rest of the crew at Johnson Space Center on September 9, 1985 (Mars). The launch scheduled for January 22 was postponed until January 26 partially due to NASA trying to get Columbia, another spacecraft, back on the ground (“Challenger Disaster”). The night before the launch, thick ice settled on the launch pad, which delayed liftoff (“Challenger Disaster”). Many astronauts were skeptical of the program and NASA became less enthused, however, it was already in motion (“The Challenger Disaster Put an End…”). Engineers also had many concerns regarding the cold temperatures, however, they were overruled by managers who initiated the launch …show more content…

Mission Control told Challenger to begin liftoff and after just 73 seconds, at an altitude of 14,000 miles, the Challenger exploded (“Challenger Disaster”). Flight Director Jay H. Green and his team were monitoring the launch until they saw a fireball on television screens and realized there had been a major catastrophe (Mars). Evidence suggests, “[t]apes salvaged from the wreckage showed that the instant before the breakup Smith said ‘Uh-Oh,’ but nothing else was heard”(“Challenger Disaster”). The disaster killed all seven astronauts (“Challenger Disaster”). Hundreds were watching the launch from the ground, including Christa’s family, and millions more watching on live television (“Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster”). Many children stayed home with their families or watched the launch in school to celebrate a teacher going to space, which turned out to be a traumatic experience for all when the explosion occurred. The catastrophe brought about national mourning (Vaughan

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Others pounded their fists in anger.” “Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire.” ”The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011 after its final mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.”The space shuttle program continued until 2011, flying more than 100 missions. Its legacy is extraordinary.” People didn’t know how to react.

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Finely the president tied the incident that day to events that took place 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake who died in see. Bringing this he is comparing the Challenger seven to Sir Francis Drake, he is also telling the public in order for them to explore there should be sacrifices, and public should never turn its back to the program. Though, President Reagan’s speech about Challenger shuttle was short, it carried a lot emotions expressed by his tone of voice and his ability to deliver the speech, moreover, he did an effective job of persuading his audience, whether he was mourning them or informing them the message was clear. However the president didn’t have the right strategy about the part he was apologizing to the children that was watching, he should never had to mention another teacher going to space in his speech.

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Alejandra Morales 4 English February 23, 2017 Challenger Rhetorical Analysis (Rewrite) President Ronald Reagan, in his speech, “Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” emphasizes the tragedy that occurred on January 28, 1986. Reagan’s purpose is to take America out of their misery. He wants his citizens to no longer feel sadness and grief for the seven heroes that died on the mission, but rather feel honor, admiration, and appreciation toward the those who gave their life to space. In addition, he hopes to motivate future space explorer in his speech of the Challenger tragedy. Reagan adopts a motivational tone in order to inspire America to stop mourning for the seven heroes that died.

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What does it take to dive into the depths of the universe? To explore the unknown? To discover new things? According to Regan it takes bravery, courage and strength. These were all traits of the daring Challenger Seven, who would unfortunately go on to lose their lives on January 26, 1986, after a fatal explosion.

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Within this address President Reagan uses his unspoken credibility to show his empathy for those involved in the Challenger Disaster. Throughout the address he uses pathos to connect with those grieving the loss of such brave pioneers. President Reagan uses this opportunity to give hope to the nation that the expansion of space exploration has not come to a halt.

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One minute and thirteen seconds. The last entry on the flight transcript: LOSS OF ALL DATA. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded 73 seconds into its flight. Aboard were five astronauts, one of whom, Christa McAuliffe, was ready to become the first school teacher in space. Sadly, none of the five survived.

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We as Americans will always respect them, and never forget them. Lastly, President Reagan portrays the astronauts as heroes and explorers by portraying them as adventure seekers in the name of discovery. This causes the audience to believe that although they died, they would still live through advances in the space program. “And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, we aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.” By saying that, Reagan led many Americans to believe that this was indeed a very hard and scary job.

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1002 Words | 5 Pages

On January 28th, 1986, Ronald Reagan, the president of the United States at the time, in his speech, entitled “Challenger Disaster,” addressed the Challenger Disaster. He supported this claim by first mourning over the tragedy, then he promoted NASA, also he tried to make sense of this calamity, and finally he informed the audience that the seven astronauts will never be forgotten and as a country we will be forever thankful for their service. Through Reagan’s use of tone, rhetorical analysis, and rhetorical tools he effectively persuaded America to mourn and appreciate the lives of the seven astronauts loss and to convince American people to continue their support for NASA and move forward as a country. Reagan unified America with his supportive

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(Dennis 714) By giving the members of the space shuttle crew a recognition as “pioneers”, the speech was poised for a smooth transition from its nature as sincere eulogy into a rhetorical work with a deliberative occasion. As soon as audience received a message implying that Challenger was a beginning instead of an end and how discovery has its risk, Ronald Reagan was in a good position to elaborate his objectives on the space program. Surely, the transition between the bad news and the new hope is one of the greatest features of the speech.

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The story, "Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger." starts off as bad news to the United States presented by president Ronald Reagan. He uses compare and contrast and cause and effect in his announcement. He informs the people of the US about the explosion on the rocket in which killing 7 people. He then stated, "But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.” which tells the reader about how the people who volunteered to take the risk of their lives for their nation.

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Seventy three seconds into its flight, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven passengers on board, including Christa McAuliffe, who was to be the first civilian in space. This was to be the Challenger’s tenth mission and, sadly, it turned out to be its final one as well. Following an investigation called for by President Reagan, it was determined that the crash was ultimately caused by two rubber O-Rings, designed to separate the rocket boosters, that failed due to cold temperatures on the morning of the launch (“Challenger Disaster”). In his address to the nation on January 28, 1968, President Reagan uses allusion, pathos, and tone to comfort the audience after the catastrophic events.

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By 1962 The United States was able to send the first person to orbit around Earth which led to the Apollo Project being put into place. The project was a part of President John F. Kennedy's plan to reach the moon before the end of the decade (Seedhouse 195). The Apollo project hit its first major setback in January 1967 after an aircraft caught on fire killing three astronauts. A year prior to this strategy the chief engineer of the Soviet space program passed. By 1968 the United States sent out Apollo 8 which successfully orbited the moon.

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I learned about three main things. The reason Space Shuttle Challenger was built, the impact the explosion had on NASA, and finally, what caused the shuttle to explode. They built a shuttle for an experiment, yet they put a teacher on it. The Challenger was built as a test of structure for shuttles. Nasa’s goal, then, was to have a lightweight spacecraft that can orbit.

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The voice an author uses when writing a story dictates the way the story sounds and what feelings a reader experiences when reading a story along with many other things. Clearly an author's voice influences many things and the way an author establishes the voice is essential to the development of a character. Sandra Cisneros develops Rachel's voice in the story, “Eleven” by writing in the view of an eleven year old girl and illustrating how an eleven year old would act. During the article, “Eleven” there are many mistakes including run on sentences and sentence fragments that the author purposefully made to convey Rachel's eleven year old thoughts.

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Former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, in his address to the nation about the Challenger explosion, distinguishes the terrifying news of the explosion of the space shuttle. Reagan's purpose is to remember the lives lost in this painful accident and to ensure that space program will keep our faith with its future in space. He adopts a sorrowful tone in order to acknowledge all the courage and breakers that those seven astronauts expressed to his nation. Reagan opens his tribute to the Challenger astronauts by recognizing that this accident delayed his State of the Union address and by showing the pain of him and his wife’s grief. He appeal to the emotions of the listeners by expressing that “today is a day for mourning and remembering” (Reagan, 1986), that he and his wife are “pained to the core” (Reagan, 1986), and that we all know that this accident is “truly a national loss” (Reagan, 1986).

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