Challenger

Posted on January 29, 2006March 20, 2017 by Matt Todd

I didn’t really have access to the computer yesterday, but I couldn’t really go on without posting remarks about the 20th anniversary of the Challenger Disaster. It’s a day late, but that’s OK.

As I posted last year, this was one of those moments that gets burned into your memory as a child. News people today say it “defines” our generation – like the Kennedy assassination or Pearl Harbor or 9/11…you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about it.

I watched a special last night about the culture of the Nasa Flight Control Center. I think it’s telling that after the Apollo fire, they promised a change in the culture of NASA. Never again would they choose a deadline over astronaut safety. Since then, the flight controlers have chosen to ignore safety precautions several times. After the Challenger disaster, they said “Never again.” After Columbia, they said “Never again.” How many times will this kind of thing have to happen before they really mean “Never again?” Has the lesson really been learned?

I think grounding the shuttles after Discovery’s near-miss is a step in the right direction.

“We will never forget them…” ~ Ronald Reagan

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Matt Todd

Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"