It's hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the world witnessed the disaster of the Challenger space shuttle, live on January 28, 1986. It is one of those events, like 9/11, that people remember by where they were at the time it happened. I, for one, was in 2nd grade and remember watching it on TV with classmates and teachers in a classroom in my Catholic grade school. Perhaps what made it so devastating, besides the fact that 7 people died, was the fact that those of us watching were watching to witness a piece of space history. We weren't watching it as we would a movie, to be entertained...we were watching it as a nation identifying with real people heading to a place that we still don't fully understand. Christa McAuliffe, the chosen applicant for the Teacher in
Space program, was one of those real people.
A documentary entitled Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars will air on CNN this Saturday, January 28th at 8:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. It will also air during those same time slots on Sunday, January 29th. Here is a Space.com article about the film.
The National Geographic Channel will also air a documentary about the disaster entitled Challenger: The Untold Story. This will be shown at the same time as the CNN documentary, on Saturday, January 28th at 8:00 & 11:00. However, it will re-air on Monday, January 30th at 12 noon. There will also be a few more airings after that. Check listings for further information.
There are also a number of good resources on the net with information about the Challenger disaster, including images, sound files, and video. Here are a few:
I want to share a great website my sister sent me (thanks, Kel). Xerox is sponsoring the "Let's Say Thanks" program. Basically, people can visit the site and view cards to personalize and send to our troops. All of the card designs were done by kids from across the country. Once you select your design, you choose a pre-written message (or write your own) and then send. It's that simple! It's all done electronically and takes no more than 5 minutes. (Well, I used all 5 minutes because I couldn't decide which card to choose...they were all so cute!) Now, go send a card and then pass the link on to someone else so they can do the same!
