Wednesday, January 29, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
braska finalist slhoeked
Teacher says he liked McAuliffe
By Jeff Apel
Senior Reporter
A sick feeling overcame Lincoln East
journalism teacher James Schaffer as
he watched the Space Shuttle Chal
lenger vanish in a cloud of white smoke
just after takeoff.
Schaffer, who was one of two Nebraska
finalists considered for the Challenger
mission, said that he felt like someone
had just kicked him in the stomach as
he and his fourth-hour class watched
the Challenger explode.
"There wasn't anything to say,"
Schaffer said. "We (the class) saw the
shuttle and suddenly it was gone."
Schaffer said he could tell some
, thing was wrong with the Challenger
after it took off because NASA officials
had taught prospective flight candi
dates about the Challenger.
The problem, he said, arose from
either the shuttle's main fuel tank or
either one of its boosters.
"I learned enough about (the shut
tle) to recognize where the problem
was coming from," Schaffer said. "It's a
terrible loss and a great tragedy for our
country's space program, which was on
the verge of its most successful year
ever."
Schaffer said at no time did he ques
tion NASA officials' decision to launch
the Challenger after they previously
had delayed its launch date four times.
Although he said he was disappointed
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that the delays prevented him from
seeing the launch in person, Schaffer
said NASA officials would never give in
to such disappointments and launch
the Challenger before it was safe.
"They (NASA officials) were never
prepared to sacrifice safety," he said.
Perhaps the U.S. public has become
overconfident as far as shuttle safety is
concerned, he said.
Schaffer said the mood of his fourth
hour class changed drastically as the
students watched the launch on TV.
The class, he said, was working on a
project when the Price Is Right was
interrupted for the launch. But what
followed, he said, was as tragic as Pres
ident John F. Kennedy's assassination
in 1963.
The students knew something was
terribly wrong, he said.
"They were quiet and subdued."
Schaffer said it will be hard for him
to get over the fact that Christa McAu
liffe, who was to be the first teacher in
space, was killed in the accident.
McAuliffe, he said, had become a
friend of his through the NASA training
program.
"I thought (McAuliffe) was a very
ordinary person. She was a dedicated
teacher," Schaffer said. "Today is a
very, very sad day for all of us who know
Christa."
If NASA officials were to contact him
about riding on the shuttle, Schaffer
said, he wouldn't have any second
thoughts about going. The United States,
he said, has done so many great things
in space that it would be worth the risk
involyed.
"I really don't think the dangers
involved are going to deter people," he
said. "It's going to slow people down a
little while, but ultimately 1 don't
think it will be a deterent.
"1 would sure hope there would be
several things important enough that a
person would give his life for."
Yew plant harmless
says horticulturist
YEW from Page 1
The yew plants grow on both city and
east campuses, Dasenbrock said, and
have been part of UNL's greenery since
the formation of the college.
The most common use for the plant
is landscaping, Dasenbrock said. It is a
"foundation plant," he said, and it is
used to accent building entrances,
among other things. The small green
plants along 0 Street, he said, are also
examples of yew plants.
Page 3
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