US Challenger's Effect in 1980
At 11:40 a.m. on January 28, 1986 as millions of Americans watched live, as the space shuttle Challenger exploded into a ball of fire. (William Broad, New York Times, pg.23) Just as the Kennedy assassination was the baby boomers disaster, this tragedy became 1980's most tragic disaster. Everyone knows exactly where they were when they found out and everyone has etched in their minds the image of the explosion. The event made everyone question the need for manned space exploration during the 80's. So is manned space exploration truly necessary?N.A.S.A. had experienced problems in the past but none measure up to the Challenger explosion. There were problems with the original Apollo launch when 3 astronauts were killed in a fire on the launching pad. That was the only time astronauts ever died. And to America, it was excusable, for the space program was in its infancy. With Apollo 11's landing on the moon people forget about the original Apollo tragedy and faith in NASA was renewed. Apollo 13 was a little scary when 3 astronauts were almost lost but the key word here is almost. From 1967 until the Challenger disaster, NASA has never lost an astronaut. The first question on everyone's mind was why and how the Challenger explod
The response to these arguments are that only with humans and manned space flights could the current space technology be 'maintained and repaired. This combined with NASA pressing for more frequent flights, and NASA placing the task of giving an OK to a flight to shuttle program managers and taking it away from an impartial division was a call for disaster. 18)America, even immediately right after the tragedy supported the continued support of NASA and specifically manned space exploration. And in the end words that Reagan specifically addressed to the school children of American rang most true "I know it's hard to understand that sometimes painful things like this happen. Resources:Broad, William NY Times "Thousands Watch a Rain of Debris" January 29, 1986 Boffey, Philip NY Times "Troubling Questions" January 29, 1986 Brown, Michael NY Times "How Could This Happen" January 29, 1986 Eberhart, Jonathan Science News "Challenger Disaster: Rooted in History" June 14, 1986 Fink, Donald E. The future does not belong to the fainthearted. The Challenger explosion made them aware that things do go wrong. It's all a part of the process of exploration and discovery, it's all a part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. Scientist like James Van Allen, discoverer of the Van Allen radiation belts that surround the earth contended that "there are few scientific or commercial purposes that cannot be served by unmanned, automated spacecraft; these can be launched and operated at a fraction of the cost of putting humans into space" (Paul Gray, Time Magazine pg.
Common topics in this essay:
York Times,
Eberhart Science,
Cold War,
Gray Magazine,
Van Allen,
World Report,
Poll America,
Kennedy Assassination,
Shuttle Challenger,
President Reagan,
space exploration,
manned space,
world report,
ny times,
january 29,
january 29 1986,
29 1986,
february 10 1986,
10 1986,
challenger disaster,
jonathan eberhart,
york times,
jonathan eberhart science,
heler world report,
manned space exploration,
|
Acceptance Essays
