1986 State of the Union Address (lost pre-Challenger disaster version of American presidential speech; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
Photo of the House rostrum during the 1986 State of the Union Address. Pictured is President Ronald Reagan (front center), Vice President George H. W. Bush (back left), and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (back right)
Status: Existence Unconfirmed
The State of the Union Address is an annual speech given by the United States president to a joint session of the U.S. Congress near the beginning of the year about the current state of the nation.[1] The 1986 State of the Union Address was the fifth State of the Union Address given by the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and was delivered on February 4th, 1986.[2] The speech was originally supposed to take place on January 28th, 1986 but it was delayed after the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight that same day, tragically killing all seven crew members aboard.[3] Due to this Reagan opted to delay the Address and speak to the nation exclusively on these tragic events.[4] Some reports before and after the disaster claim that Reagan had planned to interact with the space shuttle at some point during the State of the Union Address, but these claims have been refuted by the Reagan administration and a pre-Challenger disaster version of the speech has never publicly surfaced.
Background
Leading up to the Challenger's failed launch it was delayed multiple times. It was first set to launch in July 1985, but was delayed to November, then delayed again to January 22nd, 1986, and delayed for a final time to its actual launch date of January 28th.[5][6] Despite this being the final launch date, engineers recommended the launch be delayed again due to massive concerns over the shuttle's solid rocket boosters (SRB), especially the O-rings inside the boosters, and the outside temperature at the time of the shuttle's launch which was 26 °F, a record low for the space program.[5] Despite these concerns acting Administrator of NASA, William Graham, had the final say on the launch and decided to push forward.[7] On the morning of the launch Jane Mayer wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal that reported that Reagan would pause the State of the Union Address and direct everyone's attention to a screen where he would show "hero".[8] A year later in the book, Challenger: A Major Malfunction, author Malcolm McConnell stated that a NASA staff member told him that it was common knowledge amongst staff that the president was supposed to call Challenger during the State of the Union Address.[9] This has led some to believe that Reagan planned to speak to Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire social studies teacher who flew as part of the Teacher in Space Project, during the State of the Union Address while she was in orbit and that William Graham rushed the launch of Challenger so that this could happen. Graham had been working under Reagan since his 1980 presidential campaign and a lot of Graham's actions as acting Administrator of NASA were seemly in an attempt to please or impress Reagan.[7] However the Reagan administration has denied any claims that there was any pressure to launch the shuttle.[10]
References
- ↑ State of the Union Address from US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved 24 Apr '23.
- ↑ Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union - 1986 from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved 24 Apr '23.
- ↑ The Shuttle Explosion; Regan Postpones State of Union Speech by Bernard Weinraub from The New York Times. Retrieved 24 Apr '23.
- ↑ Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library archived on the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 Apr '23.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident archived by NASA. Retrieved 24 Apr '23.
- ↑ 24-Hour Delay Called for Shuttle Flight as Wind and Balky Bolt Bar Launching by William J. Broad from The New York Times. Retrieved 24 Apr '23.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Why Challenger Was Doomed by Joseph J. Trento and Susan B. Trento from the Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 Apr '23.
- ↑ Challenger Revealed by Richard C. Cook archived the Internet Archive. Retrieved 25 Apr '23.
- ↑ Challenger: A Major Malfunction by Malcolm McConnell archived on the Internet Archive. Retrieved 25 Apr '23.
- ↑ White House Finds No Pressure to Launch by Gerald M. Boyd from The New York Times. Retrieved 25 Apr '23.