''Challenger'' is a 1990 American
disaster
A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
based on the events surrounding the
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster in 1986. Its production was somewhat controversial as the families of the astronauts generally objected to it. A
prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...
states that the film was "researched with the consultation of the
National Aeronauts and Space Administration" and partly filmed at NASA's
Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...
in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.
Plot
The film concentrates on the safety inspections and arguments surrounding the
O-ring
An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross section (geometry), cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembl ...
s that
ultimately were blamed for the
explosion
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...
of ''
Challenger''. While doing this, it also aims to show the personal humanity of the seven
crew members. Generally, the film supports the
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its ...
and the dedication of NASA personnel in general while
criticizing NASA management.
After beginning on the eve of the
launch, the rest of the film is told through
flashback, beginning on July 19, 1985, when
Christa McAuliffe
Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire who died on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payloa ...
was officially
selected to be the first teacher to
travel into space. The film ends just as the shuttle takes off on January 28, 1986, following a symbolic scene of each of the seven crew members and passengers reciting in their thoughts
John Gillespie Magee Jr.'s poem "
High Flight
''High Flight'' is a 1941 sonnet written by war poet John Gillespie Magee Jr. and inspired by his experiences as a fighter pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. Magee began writing the poem on 18 August, while stationed at Lis ...
".
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
used part of "High Flight" in
a speech written by
Peggy Noonan
Margaret Ellen "Peggy" Noonan (born September 7, 1950) is a weekly columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributor to NBC News and ABC News. She was a primary speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 19 ...
on the night after the ''Challenger'' disaster while eulogizing the fallen members of the crew.
Cast
Karen Allen
Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film, television and stage actress. She made her film debut in the comedy film ''Animal House'' (1978), which was soon followed by a small role in Woody Allen's romantic comedy-drama ''Manh ...
portrayed
Christa McAuliffe
Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire who died on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payloa ...
, Kristin Bond portrayed McAuliffe's daughter, Caroline, and
Kale Browne
David Charles "Kale" Browne (born June 16, 1950) is an American actor.
Biography
He was born in San Rafael, California. Browne was the first to play the roles of Michael Hudson on '' Another World'' (1986–1993, 1995–1998) and Sam Rap ...
portrayed McAuliffe's husband,
Steven
Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...
. Allen and Browne were married in real life.
Peter Boyle
Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. He is known for his character actor roles in film and television and received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. ...
portrayed
Roger Boisjoly, the
Thiokol
Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is a portmanteau of the Greek words for sulfur () and glue (), an allusion to the company ...
engineer most vocal about the danger of launching at
extremely low temperatures because of the risk that the O-ring seals in the shuttle's
rocket boosters would fail at those temperatures.
The film also examines the personal lives of the other members of the crew -
Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996–2002). Bostwick has also ...
as Commander
Dick Scobee
Francis Richard "Dick" Scobee (May 19, 1939 – January 28, 1986) was an American pilot, engineer, and astronaut. He was killed while commanding the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' in 1986, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during laun ...
,
Brian Kerwin
Brian Kerwin (born October 25, 1949) is an American actor who has starred in feature films, Broadway shows, and television series and movies.
Life
Kerwin was born in Chicago and raised in Flossmoor, Illinois. He has three siblings, Anne, Dennis, ...
as Pilot
Michael Smith,
Joe Morton
Joseph Thomas Morton Jr. (born October 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known as a character actor for his numerous roles on stage, television and film, he has received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award as well as a nomination for ...
as Dr.
Ronald McNair,
Keone Young
Keone Joseph Young is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Dr. Michael Kwan in '' Kay O'Brien'' (1986), Mr. Wu in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and as the dual roles of Judge Robert Chong and Mr. Wan in ''The Young and t ...
as Lt. Col.
Ellison Onizuka
was an American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Air Force flight test engineer from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Cha ...
,
Richard Jenkins
Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor. He is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his c ...
as
Gregory B. Jarvis,
Julie Fulton as Dr.
Judith Resnik
Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. She was the fourth woman, ...
- and their families -
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the 1980s, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Angela Bassett, various accolades, including a Primetime ...
as Cheryl McNair,
Elizabeth Kemp as Jane Smith, Jeanne Mori as Lorna Onizuka, Debbie Boily as Marcia Jarvis, Melinda Ann Austin as June Scobee,
Melissa Chan as Janelle Onizuka, Gavin Luckett as Reggie McNair, Naoka Nakagawa as Darien Onizuka, Thomas Allen Jr. as Scott Smith - before they boarded ''Challenger''.
Emmy award
At the
42nd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 1990. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. Two networks, The Family Channel and The Disney Channel, received their firs ...
in September 1990, ''Challenger'' won Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special.
See also
* ''
The Challenger Disaster
''The Challenger'' (US title: ''The Challenger Disaster'') is a 2013 TV movie starring William Hurt about Richard Feynman's investigation into the 1986 Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. The film was co-produced by the BBC, the Science ...
'', 2013 film
* ''
Challenger: The Final Flight'', 2020 documentary miniseries
References
External links
*
{{Space Shuttle
1990 television films
1990 films
1990 drama films
1990s disaster films
American disaster films
American films based on actual events
Disaster films based on actual events
Disaster television films
Drama films based on actual events
American drama television films
Films about astronauts
Films set in Florida
Films set in 1985
Films set in 1986
Science docudramas
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
ABC Motion Pictures films
American Broadcasting Company original films
Carolco Pictures films
Films directed by Glenn Jordan
Films shot in Texas
Films shot in Houston
American docudrama films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
English-language drama films