Challenger- 25 yrs ago

“Challenger, you’re a go at throttle up”, “Roger, Houston, Go at throttle up”. Those were the last words spoken between Mission Control in Houston and the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. Moments later the shuttle disintegrated killing its seven-person crew. Can you believe it was twenty-five years ago, can you remember where you were? I still remember the statement from President Reagan that night, “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." Our collection of space books includes astronaut memoirs that provide a detailed history of the shuttle program. “Riding Rockets” by Mike Mullane who was an astronaut in the mold of the early pioneers of NASA through his 35 years there. Another astronaut’s memoir is “Sky Walking” by Thomas Jones, its picks up where Mullane memoir leaves off, telling the story of the post Challenger shuttle program and the loss of the Columbia shuttle. Both books are testaments to humankind’s fierce desire to explore and are timely reminders that space flight remains a dangerous, but worthy adventure.