Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys into the Unknown

This book details the stories of Challenger’s missions from the points of view of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who flew and knew her and the managers, technicians, and ground personnel who designed her and nursed her from humble beginnings as a structural test article into one of the most capable Shuttles in NASA’s service. Challenger veterans, including Gordon Fullerton and Vance Brand, describe their experiences and the differences between Challenger and her sister ships. The development of Challenger herself is explored in detail, including her design, development, construction, and preparation for missions.

This book, which will complement Ben Evans’ previous work: Space Shuttle Columbia – Her Missions and Crews, is designed to cast minds back to a time when the Shuttle was truly the future: untarnished by disaster and bolstered by apparent success. It was a time when astronauts confidently expected to fly seven, eight or nine missions in their careers, when missions would be launched twice a month, when virtually anybody could travel into space and the fabled final frontier was drawing inexorably closer as each year passed. The book will tell the stories of Challenger’s missions from the points of view of the astronauts, engineers and scientists who flew and knew her and the managers, technicians and ground personnel who designed her and nursed her from humble beginnings as a structural test article into one of the most capable Shuttles in NASA’s service.

It will combine technical esoterica with interviews, stories and anecdotes from the lifetime of this remarkable spacecraft. Challenger veterans, including Gordon Fullerton and Vance Brand, will describe their experiences and the differences between Challenger and her sister ships. The development of Challenger herself will be explored in detail, including her design, development, construction and preparation for missions.

Ben Evans was born in October 1976 in Solihull and attended the University of Birmingham, from where he gained a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and later a teaching qualification. He has written extensively for SPACEFLIGHT, COUNTDOWN and ASTRONOMY NOW magazines since 1992 and has previously had two books published by Praxis. These were NASA'S VOYAGER MISSIONS (2003) and, most recently, SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA (2005). He researched and wrote both books whilst training and working as a history and English secondary school teacher. He is not a professional scientist, but merely a space enthusiast with an interest in writing.