<p>Wednesday marked 40 years since the in-flight explosion of NASA&#8217;s Space Shuttle Challenger — just 73 seconds after lift-off — and then-President Ronald Reagan&#8217;s address to a nation in shock.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-51l/">STS-51-L</a>, according to NASA, was the 25th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program. Children in classrooms across the nation gathered around televisions to watch the shuttle that would carry the first teacher, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, to space. But just over one minute after the launch, it became clear that something had gone terribly wrong.</p>
<p><strong>WATCH:</strong></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AfnvFnzs91s?si=iXSGTSzbcdU7BX-J" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>An investigation following the disaster determined that an o-ring in the right solid rocket booster had failed, likely in part due to the extreme cold weather in Cape Canaveral at the time.</p>
<h4>The Crew</h4>
<ul>
<li>Spacecraft commander Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, a veteran Air Force test pilot who&#8217;d logged thousands of flight hours and flown in combat in Vietnam, joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 1978. He piloted STS-41C, the fifth orbital flight of the Challenger spacecraft, after a successful launch in April of 1984.</li>
<li>Mission pilot Michael J. Smith was an instructor at the Navy’s Advanced Jet Training Command before flying A-6 &#8220;Intruders&#8221; from the deck of the USS Kitty Hawk in Southeast Asia. He was selected for NASA in 1980, and the 1986 mission was to be his first.</li>
<li>Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist, was the second American woman ever to orbit the earth aboard the maiden flight of Discovery, STS-41D, in the fall of 1984.</li>
<li>Ronald McNair, mission specialist, was selected by NASA in 1978 — and became the second black American in space when he flew in the Challenger Shuttle mission STS-41B in February of 1984.</li>
<li>Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist, served in the Air Force prior to being selected for NASA in 1978. He also served as a mission specialist on STS-51C in January of 1985, on the Discovery orbiter.</li>
<li>Gregory B. Jarvis, a payload specialist with Hughes Aircraft Corp.’s Space and Communications Group, competed with 600 others in his company for a spot on the shuttle.</li>
<li>Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher, also competed against 11,000 applicants for a spot on the Challenger crew. After being fascinated as a child by the Apollo moon landing, she wrote on her application, &#8220;I watched the Space Age being born and I would like to participate.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p>That evening, President Reagan addressed the nation, announcing at the beginning of his remarks that he&#8217;d originally planned to deliver a very different speech.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ladies and gentlemen, I&#8217;d planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>He went on to speak of the dedication and bravery of all who worked in NASA&#8217;s space program, telling the families of those who&#8217;d tragically lost their lives that their loved ones had been true pioneers and true patriots.</p>
<p><strong>WATCH:</strong></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DqilE4AAa-M?si=xeFM_PAxHGr-vfS6" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>&#8220;To the children who&#8217;d watched the disaster unfold on live television,&#8221; he added, &#8220;I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It&#8217;s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It&#8217;s all part of taking a chance and expanding man&#8217;s horizons. The future doesn&#8217;t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we&#8217;ll continue to follow them.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard a ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, &#8216;He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it,'&#8221; Reagan added. &#8220;Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake&#8217;s, complete. The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and &#8216;slipped the surly bonds of earth&#8217; to &#8216;touch the face of God.'&#8221;</p>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

40 Years Ago: Ronald Reagan Addresses The Nation After Challenger Disaster

CONTINUE READING

Platner Campaign Threatened Female Staffer Who Exposed Sexual Deviancy

Vanilla Ice Blows Up The America 250 Boycott Narrative

Spencer Pratt Gives Bill Maher A Reality Check On Smoking Pot Around Kids

Jill Biden Supported Pardon Because DOJ Was ‘Not Fair’ To Hunter. It Was Joe Biden’s DOJ.

Jill Biden Says White House Docs ‘Missed’ Joe’s Cancer

Spencer Pratt Thinks He Found The Fix For L.A.’s Homeless Disaster

News

Aerospace

NASA

Politics

Ronald Reagan

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

The Pendragon Cycle

Menu

— News —

40 Years Ago: Ronald Reagan Addresses The Nation After Challenger Disaster