The story behind the explosion of the Nasa space shuttle in 1986 is a gripping, damning catalogue of underfunding, labyrinthine bureaucracy and fatal corner-cutting
In 1986, two catastrophic events occurred on either side of the cold war divide that shocked the world. On 28 January, 73 seconds after takeoff, the US space shuttle Challenger broke apart in mid-air, killing all seven astronauts on board and traumatising millions of viewers watching live on TV. Three months later, on 26 April, a meltdown at Chornobyl sent a radioactive cloud across the USSR and Europe. Two workers died immediately and the estimated death toll over time ranges from hundreds to tens of thousands. It’s widely believed to have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In his 2019 book Midnight in Chernobyl, the British writer Adam Higginbotham reconstructed the latter event in forensic detail, building up to the meltdown and tracking its aftermath with the skill of a great thriller writer. It’s one of the most queasily compelling books I’ve ever read, and the scenes in which ill-equipped workers venture into the stricken reactor in the hope of containing the fallout are permanently seared into my memory.
About Author
More Stories
Microsoft unveils chip it says could bring quantum computing within years
Virologist Wendy Barclay: ‘Wild avian viruses are mixing up their genetics all the time. It’s like viral sex on steroids’
Shortsighted Taiwan may have lessons for the world as a preventable disease skyrockets