Challenger: The Untold Story

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Technology Documentary hosted by Tom Kane and published by National Geographic in 2006 - English narration

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The January 28, 1986, launch of the space shuttle Challenger was expected to be a historic first - schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe was to be the first ordinary U.S. citizen flown into space. Instead, the Challenger flight marked one of the greatest tragedies in American space exploration when the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members on board.

With the shuttle's explosion came serious questions. Could the tragedy have been averted? Why did NASA allow the Challenger to launch on that unseasonably cold morning? Did NASA knowingly put political, monetary or public relations considerations ahead of the astronauts' safety? On the eve of the disaster's twentieth anniversary, the National Geographic Channel (NGC) presents "Challenger: The Untold Story," which portrays the events and decisions leading up to the ill-fated launch with an immediacy that catapults viewers back to those tragic days.

The program blends dramatic re-creations, archival footage and news coverage with firsthand accounts from key participants to provide an intimate, insider's perspective from prior to launch through 73 seconds after liftoff, the explosion and the aftermath. The special weaves together three major story lines - Christa McAuliffe's journey from high school teacher to astronaut; whistle-blower and Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly's futile battle to ground the shuttle due to concerns over the O rings; and Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman's pivotal role in the Rogers Commission's investigation.