25 years ago today, Challenger exploded before the eyes of millions of viewers. Except, it didn’t really explode in the traditional sense, and the astronauts on board didn’t die in that moment. Two things I didn’t know until reading 7 Myths About The Challenger Shuttle Disaster. The author is James Oberg, a former Mission Control operator and an orgital designer. In other words? Someone very qualified to write this piece. The article discusses the logistics of the accident itself as well as some of the forces behind it. One of the myths the author addresses deals with the notion that the accident was simple an unavoidable part of progress.

The disaster need never have happened if managers and workers had clung to known principles of safely operating on the edge of extreme hazards — nothing was learned by the disaster that hadn’t already been learned , and then forgotten.

The most tragic part of the piece is the discussion of what happened after the explosion as all signs indicate the astronauts did not die in that moment. It’s tragic to imagine, especially since I carried the assumption that the explosion killed them for 25 years.

Full article here.