The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

In 1986, seven astronauts boarded Space Shuttle Challenger for what was meant to be a routine tenth flight of the orbiter. Seventy-three seconds after lift-off, the shuttle broke apart in front of millions of viewers, in what remains one of the worst disasters in the history of human spaceflight.



But how did a craft NASA claimed was as safe as an airliner come to fail in full view of a watching nation? Who knew the risks, and when? And why, seventeen years later, did it happen again?



This is a Short History Of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.



A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr. Matthew Hersch, an historian at New York and Harvard universities, and author of Dark Star: A New History of the Space Shuttle.



Written by Kate Harrison | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Mirianna Pitman-Latham and Matthew Peaty | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact check: Sean Coleman



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History is full of the extraordinary.Each week, we'll transport you back in time to witness history's most incredible moments and remarkable people.New episodes Mondays, or a week early for Noiser+ subscribers.With Noiser+ you'll also get ad-free listening and exclusive content on shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started or head to noiser.com/subscriptions⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.For advertising enquiries, email info@adelicious.fmNo part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

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