Robert W. Mellette
The Space Shuttle is the prime element of America’s Space Transportation System. Whereas earlier rockets had an effective life of only minutes, and all spacecraft were used just once, the Shuttle is our first reusable spacecraft. This capability has markedly expanded our ability to operate routinely in space.
The introduction of this new generation of space vehicle in 1981 caused a wave of excitement and interest to sweep across America. As adults we had grown up with the space program. Most of us ca vividly remember NASA proudly introducing the original seven Mercury astronauts in the early sixties. We would all watch in awe as Neil Armstrong became the first human to step onto the moon. The magnificent accomplishments of the first decade in space, however, was followed by a period of dormancy and the initial excitement of space exploration became part of our national history. Students attending school in the next decades would not be privileged to share the intimacy we shared with our heavenly heroes.
The maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia changed this. Students in the classroom literally had new heroes to look up to. Unfortunately, the initial enthusiasm sparked by the first Shuttle launch did not last. Shuttle launches became so predictably routine, that by the time of the Challenger mission 51-L, none of the major networks elected to even cover the lift-off live. The growing lack of interest, however, was not shared by teachers and students for this particular launch. For the first time in the history of our space program, a private citizen, a teacher, would be onboard. Christa McAullife, a social studies teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, would “fly” for all of us on her quest “to reach for the stars”.
Tragically, seventy-three seconds into the flight, our Nation’s dream turned into a nightmare. The awesome complexity and dangers of placing humans into orbit was painfully painted in a grotesque scene across the clear blue Florida sky.
Only hours after this terrible tragedy a ninety-two year old grandmother called into a radio talk show. She reminded us all that the “‘Challenger”’ was gone but not the
challenge
. In a totally unexpected and unforseen way the Challenger accident created a demand from the public to learn more about Christa, the Space Shuttle program, the mission and its brave crew.
As teachers we can take advantage of this tremendous interest and use it to transform a devastating tragedy into an opportunity to inform and inspire our students. The space program is spectacular. It has a cast of thousands, impressive sets, heroes and drama. We can and should use it to help make our curriculum more exciting for today’s student.
