\paragraph{The Challenger Disaster }

During the 1950s,scientists from the USSR and the USA started a'space
race'.The first man to go into space was Yuri Gagarin,a Russian scientist
who went round the Earth in 1961.Then in 1969,the American astronaut
Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.Since then
many astronauts have travelled insapce,and many children (and adults!)
have dreamed of becoming an astronaut one day.For most people,the
idea remains a dream,since only very experienced scientists can over
normally go into space.In the 1980's,the USA began shuttle programme,
which carries out many scienctific experiments in space.The American
goverment decided taht the space shuttle called \emph{Challenger}
should take not only scientists,but also an ordinary person into space.This
was a way of helping the American people to accept the great cost
of the space shuttle programme. In1984,President Reagan of the USA
decided that the 'ordinary'person should be a teachar.More than 11,000
teachers wanted the job,and the person who was finally chosen was
Mrs Christa McAuliffe.While she was in space,she was in space,she
was going to give two fifteen-minute lessons by television,so that
people all over the USA could understand the many advantages of space
tarvel.The scientists on board \emph{Challenger} had already been
into space nine times before.

This time,it was delayed,at first from 20 January 1986 to 25 January.Finally,on
Tuesday 28 January,the shuttle was ready to go.The television cameras,the
scientists,and the families of the astronauts were all in Florida,waiting
to watch \emph{Challenger} go off into space.Mrs McAuliffe's son Scott,aged
nine,her daughter Caroline,aged six,her parets,and some of her students,were
all there.
This was a day that they would never forget!
The countdown started in long, slow minutes.Then,with forty-five seconds

to go,things started to happen faster.The main engine was firing,the computers were in control.Ten...nine eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one...lift off!Every bodys's first feelings were pure oy and excitement.After fifty-two seconds,the engines had reached full power,and the shuttle was flying higher and higher up into space.A little later,an orange light was seen on the long-distance televisions,an unexpected light...Then it was not just a small light,but red-and-o

range fire,followed by a cloud of white smoke.Suddenly the televisions showed

nothing,and all contact with Challenger was lost.It was some time before anybody really accepted that a disaster had happened.Everybody wanted to believe that this was just a dream,that the shuttle and everyone inside would come back safely.But that was only a dream.Te truth was hard to believe.Chal

lenger had brown up in mid-air,seventy-three seconds after take-off.Mrs McAuliffe

and the six other astronauts were dead.Mrs McAuliffe had caught the imagination of whole nation,because she represented every 'ordinary' person in America.Jay Schaeffer,a teacher from Los Angeles explained that for students,a teacher in space becomes their teacher:'Do you knoww an asstronaut?' Everyone knows a teacher.' With her death,the American people her death,the American people lost confidence in the space programe.In the next days,many nations of the world sent messages to President Reagan and to the families of the astronauts,e

xpressing surprise and sadness.'When something like this happens,'said a

Russian woman in Moscow,'we are neither Russians nor Americans.We all just feel sorry for those two died and for their families.'

A few weeks later, the bodies of the astronaut were found in the remains

of the Challenger at the bottom of the Altantic Ocean.The search cost twenty million dollars,but the nation could not rest until the bodies had been found.

The cause of the disaster was discovered quite quickly .At the time of the

flight,the weather was freezing,and the gold and had weakend the join between two parts of the shuttle.Fuel escaped, and this caused the fire and explosion.

The Challenger was not only a disaster for the families of Mrs McAuliffe

and the six other astronauts.It was a disaster for the Challenger space programme,which had cost 1.2 billion dollars set-back for them.In future,the space programme would find it more difficult to get money from the US goverment.

However,the disaster could not completely stop the USA's space programme.As

president Reagan said on television:'There will be more shuttle flights...more teachers in space.Nothing ends here.Our hope and our journeys continue.'