January 28, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: The Explosion

[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 why we were so unprepared for disaster, and what the horrifying moment meant. As I wrote in Monday’s post, there’s a significant difference…