To men and women across the United States, the almost ideal diversity of the Challenger crew—“one of everything”—may have been enough to make the tragedy seem personal. Yet five of the seven were trained astronauts, and all but one were aerospace professionals, each of whom had understood and accepted the risks inherent in their mission. Christa McAuliffe was different. Not only had she captivated the attention of the nation’s schoolchildren, but she had embodied the hopes of all those adults who believed, however remotely, that her journey was bringing the Walter Mitty fantasy of citizen
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