Seconds from Disaster

SYNOPSIS

Excitement and anticipation surrounds the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S. This momentous endeavour would mark the first time that any civilian has been flown into space. On 28 January, 1986, school children and others watch eagerly on the ground and on television, as school teacher Christa McAuliffe prepares to become the first civilian to join the astronauts. At 11:38 AM, Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off, barrelling towards the atmosphere. However, a mere 73 seconds later, onlookers and the nation watch in horror when the shuttle is suddenly engulfed in flames and breaks apart in the sky. A full-scale enquiry of the crash is launched with NASA officials searching for clues to the shuttle's explosion, desperate to answer the most agonizing question: could this tragedy have been prevented?