Michael Kranish, writing at The Washington Post (Apple News), reflecting on the life and impact of Christa McAuliffe:
On that day four decades ago, I was standing alongside McAuliffe’s parents and friends. I was a reporter in the Boston Globe’s bureau in Concord, New Hampshire, and I was assigned to follow McAuliffe’s journey from Concord to Cape Canaveral. I visited McAuliffe in her home, flew with her son’s class to Florida and witnessed the disaster.
As the 40th anniversary neared, I revisited McAuliffe’s journey, documented in my clippings as well as thousands of pages of books, reports and previously unpublished material. I tracked down the handful of surviving former officials involved in the launch decision, including the rocket company manager, who reversed himself and signed off on the launch.
What I found are intertwined stories: one of McAuliffe and her fellow crewmates, determined to revive interest in the space program, and another of behind-the-scenes turmoil as rocket engineers all but begged that the launch be scrubbed.
McAuliffe was chosen in July 1985 from 11,000 applicants to become the first teacher in space. This brought a wave of attention to the shuttle program that had been mostly forgotten by the public. The loss of the crew was always going to be a painful moment, but her presence on the shuttle meant many, many adults and children saw the moment live on TV.