The Challenger Disaster

September 15, 2020
In the distant future, a diverse classroom spends a day giving presentations about the tragic and still relevant accident of the space shuttle Challenger. It's "Challenger Day" on the fictional Space Station Sagan, exactly 400 years after Challenger's 1986 explosion. The kids on Sagan, drawn with cartoon-style big heads and wide-eyed expressions, sound like today's middle schoolers but use holo-pads and virtual reality instead of paper and projectors. Fatima, who is brown-skinned and wears a hijab, presents first, showing labeled diagrams of the shuttle and its flight path. The presentation assumes knowledge of aerospace terms such as propellant and thrust; classmate Chris, also dark-skinned, might be speaking for many readers when he exclaims, "I feel like you gotta be some sort of rocket scientist to understand all this!" He then introduces the class to holographic projections of the Challenger crew, who cheerfully--and quite eerily--explain their backgrounds and give the 24th-century kids a chance to decry racism as "hatred" that no longer exists. Next, the teacher, who presents White, goes over the events of the launch in the most straightforward, evocative, and beautifully designed and illustrated part of the book. Max, a White-presenting student, describes the investigation into the accident, lionizing Richard Feynman without mentioning his sexism. Carmen, who has light-brown skin, waxes lyrical about space and other pioneers who faced "setbacks" but "kept going." The facts are there, seen through rosy lenses. A well-researched, idealistic tribute. (introduction, afterword, additional facts) (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)

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July 1, 2020
Four students and their teacher on Mars's Space Station Sagan (it's January 2386) mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger explosion. In a graphic novel that's in turns funny, moving, elucidating, and riveting, the class takes advantage of twenty-fourth century technology in the presentations--including virtual-reality field trips, hologram appearances by the Challenger crew, and simulated space flights. Topics include space shuttle history, "the design and function of the space shuttle," crew member biographies, the launch and catastrophic aftermath, the subsequent investigation, and lessons learned. The subject is given respectful treatment in the appealing panel illustrations. "Additional Challenger Facts" and an author's note conclude the sci-fi/history offering.

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