Imagine below freezing temperatures, and the people around you shocked as they watch the tragic event of the Challenger exploding, causing its members, including first to be teacher in space Christa Mcauliffe, to die. On January 28, 1986, people watched as o-ring failures released flames, causing the Challenger to explode, killing its members in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Challenger explosion made an important impact on NASA’s space exploration programs, as well as the public’s view on space exploration.
In 1982, National Security Decision Directive wanted NASA to focus on making a fully operational space shuttle program. The program was to be cost efficient and have at least twenty-four flights per year. By 1985 though, NASA had only managed nine flights for a given year. The shuttle they were using was nine-billion dollars, and wasn’t cost efficient as desired. Then, in 1986, NASA planned its largest number of flights yet. They had fifteen scheduled flights, one that would involve a teacher in the debut of the Teacher-in-Space program. The day before the launch of the Challenger,
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They honored and respected the members that died because of the Challenger Explosion. The Challenger Explosion showed the public that space travel isn’t as safe as an airplane flight, like some people thought. Without it, people may not have realized the risk every mission an astronaut takes every time they go into space. The Challenger Explosion affected people all around the USA, even children, with the deaths of every member, including a highschool teacher. Along with this tragedy, people’s view on NASA decrease, as a revelation was brought up to them that space travel isn’t a hundred percent safe. Although the Challenger Explosion caused the deaths of its members, it was important that it happened so others could learn from their mistakes and improve the safety of technology used in space