The Challenger shuttle disaster: How Nasa’s top minds failed its crew

Adam Higginbotham’s new book examines the simple cause of the 1986 tragedy, and how it was just the symptom of a game of Russian roulette at the space agency

Challenger crew (from left): Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair, Mike Smith and Ellison Onizuka

Andrew Lynch

On July 31, 1985, Irish-American woman Christa McAuliffe was a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The 36-year-old Bostonian had recently become an instant celebrity, selected by Nasa ahead of more than 11,000 other applicants to become the first schoolteacher in space.

After a few minutes of genial banter, Carson mentioned an astronaut who had once been asked what the experience was like. “It’s a strange feeling,” the host quoted with a knowing smirk, “to realise that every part on this capsule was made by the lowest bidder.”