Here’s an interesting article leading into the 20 year anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. I imagine everybody 30 and over remembers where they were when they first heard the news that the Shuttle had blown up - I know I do. I was walking between first period and second period classes at O.G. Gresham Jr. High, when the ruckus started. Many of the teachers got television sets, and students in the halls poured into classrooms - not necessarily their classrooms - to watch the news. It was very, very sad.

The Seven Myths dispelled:

1. Very few people in the U.S. saw the tragedy happen live - (most networks had switched away when the disaster happened, and viewers were shown a tape delayed broadcast when the networks switched back)

2. Challenger Didn’t Explode!

3. The Crew likely didn’t die 73 seconds into the mission during the fireball pictured above - it likely happened 2 minutes after that when Challenger splashed down into the water at 200 m.p.h.

4. The dangerous solid rocket booster flaws were not the result of political meddling

5. An environmental ban didn’t lead to a weaker O ring sealant.

6. Political pressure didn’t force the launch that day.

7. The disaster was not an unavoidable price for progress - in fact, if the mission hadn’t launched on a record cold day (for a launch) it’s likely the disaster would never have happened. The low temperature’s that day were more responsible for the O ring failure than most other factors.

See the article for more details - it’s a good read!