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Forty years to the day since the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, a former astronaut and teacher recounted watching the launch as a child and reflected on why she still chose to fly years later in a new Fox Nation documentary that pays tribute to the crew and examines the decisions that led to a national tragedy.
As a fifth grader, former commander of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger said she was looking forward to watching the Challenger launch because her parents were teachers.
Two years of buildup after President Ronald Reagan announced that New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe would accompany astronauts into space had Metcalf-Lindenburger excited for liftoff on January 28, 1986.
Christa McAuliffe, American teacher and astronaut, is seen ahead of the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. (Fox Nation)
“And what we saw was not what we expected to see,” she said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.”
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The launch of America’s first teacher in space was meant to inspire a generation, but instead became a national tragedy watched live by millions. Exactly 40 years ago today, that horrific moment changed spaceflight and the country forever when mission STS-51-L experienced structural failure in its ascent just 73 seconds after launch.
All seven crew members were killed in the failed mission.
The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger is seen in a still from Fox Nation’s new documentary, “73 Seconds to Disaster.” (Fox Nation)
Fox Nation’s “73 Seconds to Disaster” examines the fateful decisions that led to this tragedy and honors the seven true American heroes onboard the Challenger.
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Metcalf-Lindenburger explained that, despite the risks inherent to spaceflight, the rewards were worth it to her.
Those rewards “were that we helped with the building of the International Space Station, we brought up science that allows us to make everyday life better back here on Earth, and that we got to see the beauty of our Earth and the depths of space,” she said.
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The former astronaut applauded the work being done at the Challenger Centers, a simulation-based STEM education nonprofit organization, to inspire the youth of today as NASA prepares its Artemis II mission to return to the moon after more than 50 years.
“I appreciate so much that the Challenger Centers, that I work with now as a board member, are helping pave the way,” she said. “We have students that walk through the door that will be flight controllers and teachers leading in this mission.”
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