Emily Crum: Assignment 4

This is an image of the Challenger shuttle on January 28th, 1986. The shuttle exploded one minute and thirteen seconds after takeoff due to faulty O-rings. The explosion of the Challenger was one of the first major tragedies to play out on live television in America. Nobody is visible in the picture, but the seven crew members on board passed away in the explosion. This image is the same one that the crew members' families, friends, students, and the rest of America saw on live television. Among those crew members was a school teacher which made the event more shocking to America. The actual astronauts on that crew already truly knew the risks that came along with it, but Sharon McAuliffe had essentially  won a contest and then received training to go on this mission. She was probably so excited about the prospect of being a regular citizen in space that she didn't even think about the dangers of going on this mission. I feel like as the shuttle was exploding she felt regret for entering the contest, because unless space was truly her passion her participating isn't worth it to her or her family