Challenger at 30

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Too High, Too Fast

“What was to have been both good politics and good television became instead an exposure of the dangerous symbiosis of government and news agencies, caught in the webs of their own routines and desires. The networks, enjoying their access to dramatic images, allowed themselves to be duped into believing that shuttle takeoffs were safe and routine. NASA, dependent on the news media for publicity, allowed itself to feel the heat of not keeping the media waiting any longer after several delays.” 

—Joshua Meyrowitz, media scholar, “The Ascent of Christa: Technological Hubris & the Challenger Shuttle Disaster,” on the 30th anniversary of the Challenger explosion, Huffington Post, Jan. 28, 2016 

• Editorial Comment: Icarus revisited.

• Related: “Utah engineers’ warning was ignored,” Salt Lake Tribune, Jan. 28, 2016




PeezPix by Ted Pease

Seastack Skyscape






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