Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Challenger shuttle launch and subsequent explosion.
I was only 4 years old when it happened. Unlike my older sister who was in kindergarten and pretty much every other child in a public school in the United States I did not watch it live. I remember the buzz and marketing that was built up before it though, such as “Space camp” a film that came out that year. The Reagan administration sincerely believed that space was important to America’s future. The decision to send a public school teacher to space was rather obviously a marketing choice to invigorate the nation, the public school system, and most importantly children’s interest in science and space. 73 seconds into its launch, Challenger suffered cataclysmic systems failure (frozen “O” rings were discovered to be the cause), and exploded on live national television. I don’t recall much of the tragedy. I DO remember that 2 years later when I was in 1st grade the press photo of Christa McAuliffe, the school teacher to “won” the lottery to be the first teacher in space was still on the wall of the class room in memoriam. It was haunting. I think that photo more than anything made me really aware of the Challenger tragedy as a child.

This anniversary gives us a moment to reflect. Not only on the 7 lives that were lost, but to perhaps see a point in the past where things changed. I’m reminded of the Dr. Who episode called “Turn Left” where Donna Noble must rewrite time (and thus save the world) by making one change in her past. President Reagan had no intention to discontinue the space program. He believed deeply in space as new frontier and America as having an almost “Manifest Destiny” roll in its exploration. But history has shown us a different tale. NASA became harder to fund in wake of the tragedy. Priorities changed. The Nation changed. And in the past 20 year Science has gone from being seen as a bettering force in human endeavors to a point of ever growing controversy in the “culture war”. In the speech President Reagan gave after the tragedy he reiterated his support for NASA and the space program. But I think no one would know the cumulative effect in our culture this would have. I am not saying that kids in my generation were scared off science by Challenger. But in hindsight the contrast of what was hoped for versus what was is striking and thought provoking. There have been many stories of late that interconnect with the current dialog of the question of America’s place in the world. Especially in regards to innovation and the sciences. So perhaps my mind just naturally gravitates back to that subject as it seems to be a point of collective meditation in the zeitgeist.