January 26, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Predecessors

[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On three earlier space program disasters that in distinct ways echoed into the Challenger ’s. 1) Apollo 1 (1967): 59 years ago tomorrow, on January…