Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

On January 28, 1986, Steve Nesbitt, public affairs officer and chief commentator at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, prepared to provide commentary for the launch of the Challenger space shuttle, despite his certainty that the flight would be delayed due to weather. He was recovering from a cold and nervous about accurately translating the technical jargon for the public.

The launch went forward, and Nesbitt conveyed details about the shuttle’s velocity and speed. Suddenly, the shuttle was obscured by an orange and white cloud. No one was certain what was happening. Nesbitt knew that he needed to provide commentary but did not want to give inaccurate information. After 40 seconds of silence, he said that a malfunction of some sort seemed to have occurred.

On January 27, 1967, Martha Chaffee was preparing dinner for her children when she learned that her husband, Roger, had died in training. Chaffee was one of three men preparing to man the Apollo 1—the first test flight in preparation for the moon landing. Chaffee, along with mission commander Gus Grissom and senior pilot Ed White, was scheduled to spend 14 days in orbit on a data collection mission.