The orbital Challenger was preparing to make it's tenth flight. Everyone in America watched as the seven crew members prepared for Mission 51-L. One of the seven crew members was Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher and civilian, to fly in space. This fact made this particular launch very famous.

The commander of the Challenger was Francis (Dick) Scobee. Scobee was married with two children. He obtained his B.S. Degree in Aerospace from the University of Arizona in 1965. Soon after graduation he entered the Air Force pilot training program. After obtaining his pilot's wings he began his assignments, including a tour in Vietnam. Scobee gained more then 6500 hours of flight time as an Air Force test pilot. He entered NASA's astronaut corps in 1978. Scobee was the pilot of mission STS-41-C, the fifth orbital flight of the Challenger. This mission proved that shuttles could repair satellites in orbit.

"Challenger reminds us that we should never quit reaching for the stars."

The loss of the Challenger and its crew became the greatest American space tragedy. The public was overwhelmed with shock and sadness. Everyone agreed that the crew represented a historical part of America. Society grew to love these astronauts, and when they died in the unexpected explosion, it felt like they had lost a family member. Floral arrangements were sent to Johnson Space Center, in Houston, in memory of the Challenger crew who had lost their lives that fateful day in January (see figure 6). When it was time for the next launch, the Discovery, on September 29, l988, the memory of the Challenger had not faded away. Even now, people recall that memorable day in January of l986, when a crew of seven men and women lost their lives in a tragic incident for the advancement of space travel.

Almost three years passed before NASA was ready to launch again. Many recommendations were made to better insure that such tragedies would be eliminated. More than three hundred changes in the spacecraft's design were made. The crew will be supplied with parachutes and easier access to their emergency oxygen supply. The crew compartment hatches will be able to be opened from the inside. Safety procedures were changed and astronauts now practice evacuation procedures. Also, management practices were changed in order to make preparation for launch safer.

(quote by Barbara Morgan, backup for Christa McAuliffe and the next teacher in space)

e pilot on board the Challenger and the father of three children. He earned a M.S. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also worked as a test pilot for the US Navy, receiving more than 4300 hours of flying time. In May 1980, Smith was selected to become a NASA astronaut and a year later he received his first assignment as a space shuttle pilot. He was to be pilot of the Challenger. This was Smith's first space flight.

The accident was blamed on a simple part of the rocket's solid booster, the o-ring. The o-ring seals the two sections of the booster together. The freezing weather the night before had made the rubber brittle and hard. This cause

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