Richard C. Cook comments: Today is the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. I well remember that day when I sat watching the liftoff on NASA Select TV at NASA headquarters, only to end in tragedy a little more than a minute later. It was the start of a long road, first as an unwilling whistleblower and much later through publication of my book Challenger Revealed: An Insider's Account of How the Reagan Administration Caused the Greatest Tragedy of the Space Age.

While the book is out of print, it’s available on Kindle and Amazon Audio. This was the book that started my post-retirement career as a writer on public affairs leading to my present role as editor for Three Sages.

Here’s an excellent commemorative article on Space Safety Magazine that discusses my role in the disaster’s aftermath.