Challenger: A Major Malfunction

SIMON SCHUSTER, 1987. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. A tight, clean and unmarked copy- " Published in 1987 just a year after the "Challenger" accident, this book by journalist Malcolm McConnell explores what was then known about the events leading up to the decision to launch the shuttle on January 28, 1986. Stressing the immediate causes of the accident, McConnell highlighted the pressures to launch, the objections of engineers, and the internal debates on the subject. He argued that NASA leaders caused the disaster by pressing operations officials to launch when they did so that President Ronald Reagan could mention it in that evening's scheduled State of the Union Address. Of course, this was the mission that would have as a crewmember Christa McAullife, the teach in space who had a special lesson from orbit planned for millions of school children.