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Kaylee Page

Professor Moore

ENGL 1302-08

17 February 2019

Tragic Loss of the Seven Heroes

The Space Shuttle Challenger will always be remembered by Americans as one of the

United States saddest days in history. On January 28th, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger was

scheduled to launch before the State of the Union Address from President Ronald Reagan. The

launch had been delayed twice due to complications, but the White House insisted it launch

before Reagan's speech, so it took off anyway. The launch was watched by millions of

Americans and, according to an article written by the New York Times, nearly half of the United

States school districts. There were seven members of the shuttle. One of the astronauts on board

was a teacher named Christa McAuliffe. All of McAuliffe’s students watched the launch along

with the rest of America. They were all stunned by the explosion that happened only seventy-two

seconds into the launch (Workman). President Ronald Reagan decided to replace his State of the

Union Address with a speech to address the grieving nation. President Reagan would have to

offer a tremendous amount of hope to not only the nation but most importantly those directly

affected by the tragedy while still carrying on with presidential dignity. The speech succeeded in

meeting all requirements both emotional and presidential by carefully addressing each party

effected. President Reagan used his address about the tragedy to also advocate that the American

people must continue to explore space and look towards the future of the country. In President

Reagan’s speech addressing the Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy he conveys an emotional

connection, credibility, and passion for the program and encourages the American people to not
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let any challenges stand in the way of future space travel.

President Reagan was able to use his strong emotional connection to the Space Shuttle

Challenger to relate and encourage the American People to continue the exploration of space.

His speech was able to bring the whole country together to grieve the tragic loss of these seven

heroes. In his speech he says "we know we share this pain with all of the people of our country.

This is truly a national loss" (Eidenmuller par 1.). When he first discovered the news about the

space shuttle, he stated that he and his wife, Nancy, were completely devastated. President

Reagan continued to show his connection while including everyone in the mourning process by

using words such as ‘we’ and ‘together.’ He concluded his speech by stating "We will never

forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and

waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God'” (Eidenmuller

par. 11). President Reagan was able to make a connection with the American people through

such a devastating loss yet still encourage them to not let this stop future space travel.

Being the President of the United States gave President Reagan an extensive amount of

credibility that helped him to comfort the nation in their time of need while still emphasizing the

importance of the space program. When he spoke to the country, Americans appreciated his

words of comfort. He made it a priority to reassure the American people that the Challenger

seven crew would always be remembered as American heroes. He shows this by saying,

“perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger

seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn

seven heroes” (Eidenmuller par. 3). The amount of knowledge President Reagan showed about

historical events also helped his credibility. He was able to use a historical example in his

speech; "There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great
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explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama…"(Eidenmuller par. 10). He

used this example as relation to the Challenger Seven to prove they died doing something they

loved, just as Sir Francis Drake died exploring the seas. President Reagan had significant amount

of knowledge about the history of America and the space shuttles, which proved he had the

credibility needed to console the American people during this tragic event.

President Reagan's passion for exploring space is extremely prominent throughout his

speech. During his speech, he makes several statements about the history of the space program.

He shows this by saying "Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a

terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost a astronaut in flight. We've never had a

tragedy like this" (Eidenmuller par. 2). In spite of this tragic event, he continues to show his

desire of wanting to keep the space program. President Reagan clearly makes this known when

he says "the future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave" (Eidenmuller par.

6). He uses this statement to encourage the country to push through this tragic event and continue

to support the space program in the future. President Reagan shows his passion again by saying

"There will be shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians,

more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hope and our journeys continue" (Eidenmuller

par. 8). Because of President Reagan's passion, he was able to show the American people that the

country must remain brave and look to the future even after the tragic loss of the seven heroes.

During President Ronald Reagan’s speech addressing the Space Shuttle Challenger

Tragedy, he was able to emotionally relate with the country, utilize his credibility as

president, and show his passion not only for his country but for the space program as well.

President Reagan addressed the nation as a whole to be able to build a deeper emotional

connection with the American people. President Reagan expressed his extensive knowledge
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about the history of America and the space shuttle program along with his title of President of

the United States as a way to demonstrate his credibility to comfort the American people during

this tragic event. Although the American people were devastated by the tragic loss, President

Reagan’s passion for the space program and his desire to continue to explore space gave the

American people hope for the future. While President Reagan was not prepared to address the

nation like he did, he rose to the occasion and inspired the country to continue to stand strong as

a united nation.
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Works Cited

Eidenmuller, Michael E. Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century - American Rhetoric,

www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganchallenger.htm. Accessed 25 Jan,2019

Workman, Karen. “The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, 30 Years Later.” The New York

Times, The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2016, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/

29/science/space/challenger-explosion-30-year-anniversary.html. Accessed 25

Jan,2019