Was it too costly? Too dangerous? Hadn’t we done it all already? Why were we exposing civilians to such a dangerous endeavor? The nation became bored with the space program during the late ’80s and into the ’90s.
The days and weeks would reveal horrific details and the total loss of Challenger and her crew, including a school teacher, something I hoped to become.ĭuring the two and half years of the investigation and retooling, NASA faced numerous challenges questioning the validity of the human space program. Only a few minutes after launch, no one yet knew of the crew’s fate. That was when someone told me of the explosion. I walked into my college class to find my classmates in a somber huddle, faces of shock and disbelief, speaking in hushed tones. I could think of no better assignment than to teach from space. As an aspiring teacher, Christa McAuliffe’s assignment to the Challenger crew was huge to me. Born just days after Gemini IV and Ed White’s first United States extravehicular activity (EVA or “spacewalk”). Photo courtesy of Michael WilkinsonĪs an undergraduate preparing for my first elementary school classroom internship, the “Teacher in Space” program seemed like the most fantastic opportunity for someone like me. Michael Wilkinson in flight suit in classroom, Bronx, New York. But this launch in the winter of 1986, already delayed by six days, would require another two-hour delay, putting lift off right at the start of my class, the first class of the new semester and not one I could miss. Liftoff was supposed to have fit my schedule perfectly: watch the launch on television, then go to class. On January 28, 1986, I was an undergrad running across campus, annoyed at the class that would cause me to miss the launch of a mission that would carry the first teacher into space. He shares his memories of the Challenger disaster and why he never gave up on space. For 29 years, Wilkinson has used space exploration to teach his students about math, science and the power of imagination. Michael Wilkinson is a 5th-grade math-science teacher at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City. High school teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first private citizen to serve on a shuttle mission, was on board. The explosion, which led many people to question whether human space exploration was worth it, took the lives of Challenger’s seven crew members. Editor’s Note: Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
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