Status Updates From The Burning Blue: The Untol...

“And if we let this setback halt the space program, then those seven people died for no purpose…None of them would’ve wanted that. So we want you to make the space program better than ever. Make their deaths count for something.”
-June Scobee

“You have to risk something to gain anything.”

“Ordinary people make history.”

wow

Worth the read! Another book that shows how corrupt the government is and how human life comes second to money

Fascinating to read about all the astronauts from this flight crew that lives in infamy and tragedy,

Wow, I missed this in the news at the time, but during the selection process for the Teacher in Space program, NASA took the 10 finalists to Space Camp theme park. The candidates were on a thrill ride when one of the teenage ride attendants untied his own harness, apparently to show off, and fell off the ride and died. What a grim omen.

“…most serious of which is to encourage ordinary citizens to fly in such a dangerous machine—as if it had attained the safety of an ordinary airliner.”

“In God we trust, all others bring data.” Hanging at JSC.

This book literally has me on the edge of my seat and I obviously already knew what was coming. I thought it would be dry but it isn’t at all. Loving it so far.

I’m really enjoying this one so far …

This is good for those who want to learn about the Challenger but not get overwhelmed by the physics

I can't get enough of the facts and statistics in this book. The shuttle had more than 20,000 six-inch silica tiles to protect it from the heat of reentry. "Those black tiles, made from the purest quartz sand, fitted and glued by hand onto the shuttle's fuselage, were so resistant to heat that if you held one by the edge when the center was red hot, you wouldn't feel a thing."

" . . . [Sally] Ride would have to answer a thousand dumb questions that had nothing to do with the job. During the run-up to Ride's ride, reporters kept asking her about bras and makeup in space. At one press conference, a writer from Time asked Ride if she cried when simulations went south. Turning to pilot Rick Hauck, she said, "Why doesn't anyone ever ask Rick these questions?""

" . . . every astronaut knew what the shuttle was--a very dangerous experimental flying rocket without a crew-escape system. [...] In order to overcome Earth's gravity the shuttle had to ride piggyback on its enormous fuel tank and two silo-sized rockets. It had to be armored to withstand a fiery reentry and streamlined enough to glide to a landing." (CONT'D BELOW)

Pam Dawber of "Mork & Mindy" fame was part of NASA's blue-ribbon panel of judges that evaluated the narrowed-down candidates for the "Teacher in Space" program. O.O

I am loving learning about all of the astronauts and the preparation for the mission. Really loving this.