To the Point
Challenger Disaster and Its Impact on the Space Program
NASA was created to run America's race into space after the Soviet Union launched the orbiting satellite Sputnik in 1958. Twenty-five years ago, the Challenger spacecraft exploded 73 seconds after launch. Six astronauts and school teacher Christa McAuliffe lost their lives.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readNASA was created to run America's race into space after the Soviet Union launched the orbiting satellite Sputnik in 1958. Twenty-five years ago, the Challenger spacecraft exploded 73 seconds after launch. Six astronauts and school teacher Christa McAuliffe lost their lives. What's happened to NASA and America's competition with other nations in space? Joan Johnson-Freese, author of Heavenly Ambitions: America's Quest to Dominate Space, is Professor of National Security Studies at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
