ENCORE: Challenger Disaster | Bigger, Faster, Cheaper | 1
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
A listener note, this episode originally aired in 2024. This episode contains graphic audio and may not be suitable for all audiences.
What happened at the Challenger launch site on January 28, 1986?
It's January 28, 1986, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. June Scobie is standing on the roof of the Launch Control Center building with her two adult children by her side. They're here to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. And today is a special occasion for them, because June's husband Dick is the commander of the mission. Watching her husband fly is nothing new for June. During their 26 years of marriage, Dick has served as a combat pilot, test pilot, astronaut, and today will be his second launch on the Challenger. And it's certainly the coldest. So cold, in fact, that the launch has already been delayed by several hours to clear icicles from the shuttle.
Looking around at the family members of the other six Challenger astronauts, all huddled together on the roof, June can see a familiar mix of excitement and trepidation on their faces. Over the years, June has learned to accept the danger inherent in Dick's line of work. But still, watching her husband get launched into space by rockets is a uniquely nerve-wracking experience. So she's relieved to know that her husband has decided to make this his final mission. The couple recently became grandparents, and she's looking forward to a more peaceful life together. But it's also bittersweet to know that her family's adventures with NASA are coming to a close. So she puts aside her jitters and tries to savor the thrill of seeing one more launch.
June wraps her arm around the waist of her son, Rich, who is a pilot himself in the Air Force Academy. Just think, Rich, that could be you flying the shuttle someday. That's a decade away, Mom. It's not an easy job to get, either. Well, maybe that's for the best. It'll be nice to have all the SCOBY men here on Earth for a while. Your father isn't even in space, and already I can't wait to have him back. At least we've been blessed with a sunny day. Perfect for launch. The sun is great, but it's awful windy. This must be the coldest day ever for a launch. I'm surprised they're even attempting it. Okay, here we go. June sees a massive burst of white smoke billow from underneath the shuttle as the engines ignite.
The sight is electrifying.
The roof trembles, and the crowd cheers as Challenger slowly rises into the air. The shuttle gains speed, and within a minute, it's 30,000 feet in the air. June smiles and waves to her husband as the craft rolls to head east over the Atlantic. But then suddenly, a large white light flashes on the distant shuttle.
How did families and witnesses react in the minutes after the Challenger explosion?
It's unclear what happened, but June can see that there are now two separate trails of smoke in the sky, moving apart in the shape of a letter Y. The cheers of the crowd give way to a quiet murmur, and the families of the other astronauts make their way over to June. They know she's witnessed launches before, and they want to know if what they're seeing is normal. But June has no answers. She suggests that maybe the flash came from one of the shuttle's rocket boosters as it became detached. But a moment later, the voice on the loudspeaker returns, informing the crowd that there's been a major malfunction. June is stunned into silence. Her children collapse into her arms, and all around her, the families of the astronauts begin to gasp and cry.
But June's eyes remain fixed on the sky. She knows that the lives of the astronauts on board are in jeopardy, but she refuses to believe that her husband and his crew are gone. She tells herself they're okay, that they're trained for emergencies like this. She repeats these words out loud, willing them to be true. But somewhere in her heart, June knows that she and the other family members around her are never going to see their loved ones again.
Does it bother you that the world is on fire? Do you also often find yourself choking on your own rage? Maybe you, too, perpetually feel like screaming bloody freaking murder into your own pillow.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:29
2
What happened at the Challenger launch site on January 28, 1986?
0:29–3:08
3
How did families and witnesses react in the minutes after the Challenger explosion?
3:08–8:24
4
Why did NASA shift from Apollo capsules to a reusable space shuttle?
8:24–40:39
5
How did budget cuts and military contracts shape the shuttle's design decisions?
40:39–42:28