Click2Disasters - Challenger Explosion - Chapter 1 - Preface

<body link="0000ff" alink="ff0000" vlink="000000" bgcolor=000033> <table width="100%" bgcolor=000033> <tr> <td align=center valign=top><table width=90% bgcolor=ffffff cellpadding=5> <tr> <td align=center valign=top><div align=center><p><b><font face="arial, helvetica" size=5 color=000000><b><i>CHALLENGER</i> EXPLOSION</b></font></p>  <table width="590"> <tr> <td align="CENTER" valign="top" bgcolor="000000" colspan=2><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="3" color="FFFFFF"><b>STORY CHAPTER LINKS</b></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center valign=top width=50%>  <table width="100%" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" border="0"> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><a href="#preface"><b>1. STORY PREFACE</b></a></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="50%"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch2.htm">2. EARLY WARNINGS</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="50%"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch3.htm">3. "AN ACCIDENT ROOTED IN HISTORY"</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch4.htm">4. WARNINGS IGNORED</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch5.htm">5. LAST-MINUTE PLEAS</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch6.htm">6. THE FINAL MINUTES</a></b></font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> <td align=center valign=top width=50%>  <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=5 border=0> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch7.htm">7. THE EXPLOSION</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch8.htm">8. THE LAST WORDS</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch9.htm">9. "THE HORROR OF DESTRUCTION"</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch10.htm">10. THE UNTHINKABLE</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch11.htm">11. THE TRANSCRIPTS</a></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="challenger_explosion_ch12.htm">12. <i>CHALLENGER'S</i> AFTERMATH</a></b></font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> </table>  <p><b><font size="3"><u><a name="preface">PREFACE</a></u></font></b></p> <div align=center><b><i><font face="Times New Roman" color="000000" size="3">They slipped the surly bonds of space<br> To touch the face of God.</i><br><br> President Reagan<br> January 28, 1986<br><br></font></b></blockquote> </div> <center> <table width="90%"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <div align="justify"> <p><font face="arial, helvetica" color="000000" size="3">It was the 25th time a U.S. <a href="http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/gal114/SpaceRace/sec500/545l8p8.jpg" target="_blank"><b>Supersonic Transport Shuttle</b></a> would take off from Cape Canaveral. This was no ordinary flight, however. <a href="http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51L/10062265.jpg" target="_blank"><b>Christa McAuliffe</b></a> was America’s first teacher to fly in space. With her training complete, and school children throughout the country anticipating her trip, there was a sense of excitement throughout the country on the evening of January 27, 1986. </p> <p>People were so used to the flights, most folks no longer watched shuttle liftoffs. This flight was different, though. Everyone - including school children - would be watching because Christa McAuliffe was going into space.</p> <p>But the shuttle’s launch mechanism had a fatal design flaw. As a result, Challenger and her <a href="http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/gal114/SpaceRace/sec500/544l2p2.jpg" target="_blank"><b>seven-member crew</b></a> - including America’s first teacher in space - were <a href="http://www.fred.net/nhhs/gif4/chal.jpg" target="_blank"><b>blown out of the sky</b></a> 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986. </p> </div> <p align="right"><font size="2"><a href="challenger_explosion_ch2.htm">GO TO CHAPTER 2</a></font></p><br>  </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>  </body>