Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger “violently exploded” tragically after 73 seconds of flight (Reagan). Ronald Reagan then came out to remind everyone of the importance of mistakes like this and not to let them destroy people's confidence. He stated, “It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

Well known president, Ronald Reagan, in his address to the nation, “Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” expresses grief for the explosion of the Challenger. Reagan’s purpose is to commemorate the seven men and women, who lost their lives and offer hope to those who will continue to explore space. He creates a sad, yet hopeful tone in order to convey to America, we all mourn the loss of the Challenger Seven, but our space program will continue.

On January 28th, 1986, Ronald Reagan, president of the United States, in his speech entitled “Challenger Disaster,” discusses the space shuttle tragedy. He supports this claim by first mourning the accident, then promoting NASA, tries to make sense of the disaster, and finally honors the astronauts. Through Reagan’s use of tone, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical tools he effectively persuades Americans to mourn the loss, but also continue to move forward and support advancement.

On January 28, 1986, as millions of Americans watched on live television and in person, the Challenger space shuttle exploded and broke up over the Atlantic Ocean just moments after its launch. This space mission was significant for several reason, among them was that it would be the first time where the space shuttle would carry a civilian into outer space. Also, there was a frenzy of interest for Americans as the U.S. and Russians were locked in a space race for space exploration supremacy. Instead. President Ronald Reagan was left with the unenviable duty of consoling a nation that had just witnessed the most significant disaster in American history.

It holds true that government organizations gradually decline; the enthusiasm is replaced with bureaucracy, employees are resistant to change and overall performance is decreased. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is no exception to this. NASA is an example of bureaucracy having a detrimental effect on an organization. The lines of communication became skewed and were often broken while the organization was locked in an internal battle over who exactly was in charge. While there were heads of each department and heads of each branch, critical information often slipped through the cracks. It was this breakdown in communication and the failure to address known issues that was the direct cause for both the Challenger and Columbia explosions. The explosions, though separated by seventeen years, were incredibly similar. Concerns had been brought to the table and similarly dismissed as “acceptable risk.” This acceptable risk proved fatal for the crews of both space shuttles. Bureaucracy and financial expediency led to reduced federal funding, general distrust from the public, and growing disinterest. The organization that sent men to the moon is vastly different than the organization in charge today. NASA’s beginnings were less clouded in red tape and bureaucratic policies. Ideas were

　　President Ronald Reagan inherited the space policy of his predecessor, Jimmy Carter and was not satisfied with its current objectives and lack of direction (Logsdon, 1995). He put together a transition team to draft a new chapter for NASA which was left in an “untenable position” by Carter’s lack of direction for the agency. The NASA transition team leader, George Low, remarked that NASA can be “the best in American accomplishment and inspiration for all citizens” (Logsdon, 1995). The team provided input to Reagan that would drive space policy during his eight year tenure.

People take risks every day. Many risks are small, such as trying a new type of food. Other risks are bigger, such as moving across the country. In “A Kenyan Teen’s Discovery: Let There be Light to save lions” by Richard Turere, the main idea is that a boy made a light to scare away lions. In “March Book 1” by John Lewis, one of the main ideas is people fighting for civil rights.

January 28, 1986, marks the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion. A day that will go down in history as a horrible tragedy for both NASA and America. Seven lives were lost that day, including the life of a high school teacher from New Hampshire. Former President Ronald Reagan was tasked with explaining this tragic event to the US people. Because of this, Reagan postponed the State of the Union Address and spoke about the Challenger Explosion instead. In his address to the nation about the explosion of the space shuttle, Challenger, President Ronald Reagan effectively commemorates the loss of the Challenger crew while also celebrating the crew’s achievements and encouraging further space travel by establishing pathos through his show of empathy, employing strong positive connotation, and alluding to the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake.

Weather can play an enormous role in historical events that are remembered decades, and even centuries, after they happen. It can turn small events that would go unnoticed in history to events that are remembered as some of the most important in world history. Until relatively recently, when the Weather Bureau was formed in 1870, we lacked the capability to forecast the weather and prevent incidents like these (Robbins). Even though weather reporting from that moment on would become widespread across the country, it would not be enough to prevent disasters such as the Challenger disaster that rocked the country on a chilly day in 1986.

The case study I chose to analyze was the Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion by Ronald C. Kramer. Kramer discussed four main components that led to the catastrophic explosion. These components include the societal context, the final flaw, the persons behind the final decision to launch, and lastly the failure of social control mechanisms. There was not just one factor that led to the failure of the launch. As Kramer discusses the different concepts that led to the failure point to state-corporate crime as a private business and government agency interacted.

On 1st of February, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia exploded when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after finished a 16 days mission in space. All seven astronauts were dead because of this incident. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had stopped the space shuttle program for more than two years to investigate this tragedy. In the 16 days period, the astronauts did approximately 80 experiments on different categories, for example, life science and material science [1]. An investigation later has found out that the disaster was caused by a problem on the day that took off on 16th of January.

On January 28th, 1986, the Challenger shuttle exploded shortly after liftoff killing all seven of the crew members. Almost everyone in America, including hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren were watching. This disaster meant that Ronald Reagan would have to address the issue. He answered this call with the Challenger Disaster Address. In this speech, he not only comforted the families of the astronauts, but also the rest of the nation by rebuilding faith in the space program. Reagan exibited empathy in his tone, while keeping a strong demeanor.

On the morning of Janurary 28th 1986, the world witnessed in shock and horror what was known as the Challenger disaster as the space shuttle exploded only 73 seconds after its launch, killing all seven crew members onboard including one teacher Christa McAuliffe. Approximately 17 percent of Americans watched the live broadcast of this launch, many of them schoolchildren including those from McAuliffe’s school. From this grave moment emerged an exigency that demands immediate action by the president. Later on that same day, President Ronald Reagan delivered his Challenger address to the nation.

One of the greatest tragedies in history occurred on January 8, 1986. Shortly after it was launched, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire schoolteacher chosen to be the first teacher in space (“Challenger Disaster, n.d.). The explosion was caused by a failure of the O-rings of the solid rocket boosters. The O-rings were unable to seat properly, causing the leaking of hot combustion gases, which burnt through the external fuel tank. The malfunction was not any one person’s or organization’s fault; it was caused by many factors including the decision to launch despite the cold weather, the poor communication between management levels of the National Aeronautics and

Seventy three seconds into its 10th flight, on January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing the seven crew members on board [1]. The Challenger was the second space shuttle constructed by NASA and had completed nine successful missions prior to the disaster. Following the accident, the shuttle program was suspended for 32 months as President Ronald Regan appointed a Commission, chaired by William P. Rogers and known as the Rogers Commission, to investigate the cause of the accident [1].