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4 books match the query 'Challenger (Spacecraft)'
Judith Resnik
Unsung AstronautMarlene Targ Brill
Ohio University Press, 0
Judith Resnik didn’t grow up dreaming of space, but when NASA opened its doors to women astronauts in the late 1970s, she stepped forward—and soared. One of the first six women ever accepted into NASA’s space shuttle astronaut-training program, Resnik brought her sharp mind, determination, and creativity to a field that had long been closed to women. Although she wasn’t the first American woman in space, she became one of the most accomplished astronauts of her time.
Resnik’s journey wasn’t easy. She faced challenges at home and in school, but she never let obstacles stop her. A gifted student, she excelled in math, science, and music—she even considered becoming a concert pianist before choosing a career in engineering. Her hard work paid off: She earned multiple degrees and helped design improvements for the space shuttle itself. She proved that astronauts aren’t just pilots—they’re problem solvers, inventors, and explorers.
In 1984, Resnik launched into space for the first time aboard the shuttle Discovery. Two years later, she joined the crew of Challenger. Tragically, that mission ended in disaster, cutting her life short. While the world focused on the loss of teacher Christa McAuliffe, who was a passenger on that flight, Resnik’s story was often overlooked. Yet her contributions to science and space exploration live on through programs, schools, and scholarships that bear her name.
This inspiring biography brings Resnik’s remarkable life to light. Readers will discover how a girl from Ohio became a trailblazer in space and how her courage and brilliance continue to inspire new generations. Her story reminds us that even if you’re not first, you can still make history—and that reaching for the stars starts with believing in yourself.
The Challenger Launch Decision
Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASADiane Vaughan
University of Chicago Press, 1995
Journalists and investigators have historically cited production problems and managerial wrong-doing as the reasons behind the disaster. The Presidential Commission uncovered a flawed decision-making process at the space agency as well, citing a well-documented history of problems with the O-ring and a dramatic last-minute protest by engineers over the Solid Rocket Boosters as evidence of managerial neglect.
Why did NASA managers, who not only had all the information prior to the launch but also were warned against it, decide to proceed? In retelling how the decision unfolded through the eyes of the managers and the engineers, Vaughan uncovers an incremental descent into poor judgment, supported by a culture of high-risk technology. She reveals how and why NASA insiders, when repeatedly faced with evidence that something was wrong, normalized the deviance so that it became acceptable to them.
No safety rules were broken. No single individual was at fault. Instead, the cause of the disaster is a story not of evil but of the banality of organizational life. This powerful work explains why the Challenger tragedy must be reexamined and offers an unexpected warning about the hidden hazards of living in this technological age.
The Challenger Launch Decision
Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA, Enlarged EditionDiane Vaughan
University of Chicago Press, 2015
When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, millions of Americans became bound together in a single, historic moment. Many still vividly remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the tragedy. Diane Vaughan recreates the steps leading up to that fateful decision, contradicting conventional interpretations to prove that what occurred at NASA was not skullduggery or misconduct but a disastrous mistake.
Why did NASA managers, who not only had all the information prior to the launch but also were warned against it, decide to proceed? In retelling how the decision unfolded through the eyes of the managers and the engineers, Vaughan uncovers an incremental descent into poor judgment, supported by a culture of high-risk technology. She reveals how and why NASA insiders, when repeatedly faced with evidence that something was wrong, normalized the deviance so that it became acceptable to them. In a new preface, Vaughan reveals the ramifications for this book and for her when a similar decision-making process brought down NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003.
The Iconoclastic Imagination
Image, Catastrophe, and Economy in America from the Kennedy Assassination to September 11Ned O'Gorman
University of Chicago Press, 2015
In The Iconoclastic Imagination, Ned O’Gorman approaches each of these moments as an image of icon-destruction that give us distinct ways to imagine social existence in American life. He argues that the Cold War gave rise to crises in political, aesthetic, and political-aesthetic representations. Locating all of these crises within a “neoliberal imaginary,” O’Gorman explains that since the Kennedy assassination, the most powerful way to see “America” has been in the destruction of representative American symbols or icons. This, in turn, has profound implications for a neoliberal economy, social philosophy, and public policy. Richly interwoven with philosophical, theological, and rhetorical traditions, the book offers a new foundation for a complex and innovative approach to studying Cold War America, political theory, and visual culture.