Homer Smith Insurance Blog

Many of us here on the peninsula are old enough to remember the days of rocketry even before Sputnik and the space race.  For some it was exciting growing up in a period when rockets were becoming instruments of exploration.  President Kennedy’s challenge to reach the moon was fulfilled and we were fascinated to see the US and the world moving forward toward the space frontier like a Star Trek adventure.

On Saturday, January 28, 1986, the space race changed and the reality of our adventure came home in a big way.  This January 28 will mark the 26th anniversary of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger shortly after its liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

The explosion was a particular shock because the successes of earlier missions had begun to lend a sense of routine to the affair. People still tuned in for the lift offs, but the safety record was such that a place had been made on this mission for a special space traveler.  Christa McAuliffe was a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire who had won a competition to gain a place on the crew of the Challenger.  Ms. McAuliffe took months of shuttle training to qualify to become the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space and interest in this flight was particularly high.

The road to liftoff had not been smooth.  The shuttle was scheduled for launch January 23 but weather and technical problems forced repeated delays.  The Challenger’s launch finally took place on January 28 and the flight lasted seventy-three seconds before the shuttle exploded in a plume of smoke and fire. There were no survivors.

Millions of us watched the tragedy unfold on live television and millions more listened on radio in offices across the nation. The event was literally unthinkable and unbelievable.

The Challenger explosion dealt a major blow to NASA. The shuttle program was grounded for nearly three years after the disaster while NASA investigated. The investigation revealed the disaster could have been prevented.  The result was changes in parts of the shuttle design. 

Of course ultimately the program recovered and the lessons learned were applied to try to make future voyages safer.    Here at Homer Smith Insurance we aren’t doing rocket science, but we are here to help you identify your risks, whether in business, home or auto and find you the best Washing State Insurance options to help manage those risks.