Space Shuttle Challenger Failure

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Somewhat recently, I took a risk and entered myself into a piano competition, where the reward was to play at Carnegie Hall. It was an expensive competition to enter, and musicians from all over the world took part in it. Fortunately, as a result of taking this risk, I ended up winning, and will now be performing in the fall. However, if I hadn’t taken this risk, I would have missed out on this opportunity that will most likely have an impact on my future and career. Risks are an essential part of life, and if we do not take risks, we limit ourselves to opportunities. Unfortunately, the outcome of a risk is uncertain. Anytime someone takes a risk, they face the possibility of losing something significant. In fact, this is the reason why so …show more content…

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger is one example of this. In 1986, several “ordinary” citizens went aboard the Challenger in hopes of exploring outer space, but unfortunately, it was a disaster and the people on board lost their lives. President Ronald Reagan wrote a speech called “Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” where he addressed the unfortunate events that had occurred. In his speech, he reminded Americans that the crew was willing to do this dangerous job. He says, “And 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" (paragraph 2). This clearly proves that the crew on the space shuttle knew exactly what they were signing up for, and were well aware of the dangers involved. Yet, this didn’t stop them from wanting to go on and explore space. President Reagan reminds Americans that these brave men and women were willing to sacrifice and risk their lives to gain further knowledge of space. The fact that there were dangers involved didn’t stop them. Furthermore, President Reagan goes on to explain why the crew of the space shuttle Challenger were willing to take this big risk. In the text, he explains, "It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave" (paragraph 4). This quote further demonstrates just how passionate and brave the crew members were to take on this risk. The goal that the crew members had hoped to achieve was to explore and discover new things in outer space. They strongly believed that the only way to achieve this goal was to take a risk. Unfortunately, they did not achieve this goal, but the important part is that they tried.

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