Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

by Adam Higginbotham
4.62 (2K)  •  2024

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History in Five presents unknown Challenger facts
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Spoiler: Author Adam Higginbotham presents surprising facts about the Challenger tragedy, among them that the O-rings responsible for the disaster had been a source of worry because of how they reacted in cold weather, causing several engineers to recommend a postponement of the launch. These suggestions were ignored and overruled in what would later be part of a NASA coverup. The author also says that due to cold weather, the entire Challenger crew did not think they would launch that day.
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Author interview in bookstore + audience Q&A
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Spoiler: Higginbotham begins by explaining the structure of the book, which is written in three parts: the institutional and technical background of the mission as well as the background of the crew who would lose their lives; second, the golden period of the Space Shuttle program during which so many front-page-worthy achievements were made; and third, the narrative leading up to the accident in 1986. He specifically wanted to tell the stories of the six members of the crew who were not Christa McAuliffe, since so much focus had been placed on her.
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Author chats with radio host about personal memories
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Spoiler: The author begins by recounting his memory of the Challenger accident, which happened when he was seventeen years old. He then tells the facts of the story for younger people or non-Americans who may not be familiar with it. He brings alive the disaster, which happened on live television while many schoolchildren were watching due to the inclusion of a teacher as part of the crew. The idea was that space travel had become so safe that even regular citizens could go; the entire crew was killed 73 seconds into the flight.

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Adam Higginbotham

Adam Higginbotham is a British journalist based in New York. He is a former U.S. correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph Magazine and served as editor-in-chief of The Face. Higginbotham has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, and Smithsonian. He is also the author of Midnight in Chernobyl, which won the William E. Colby Award and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Other books by Adam Higginbotham

4.37 (52K)   •   2019

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