In the Granite State we celebrate our contribution to the adventure of space exploration. The first American in space, Alan Shepard, was from here. This past week we observed the 40th anniversary of the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle during an ill fated launch on January 28, 1986.
Lost in that tragedy was Christa McAuliffe. The Concord High School teacher was to be the first teacher in space, indeed the first civilian in space. President Reagan was to celebrate this in his State of the Union Address the same day as the launch. Reagan would instead deliver one of his memorable orations, mourning the tragedy.

Partly due to McAulliffe’s  electric personality, partly due to the shocking visuals, the hurt inflicted by this accident still feels fresh, particularly to residents of the Granite State.

There are different kinds of courage. There is physical courage and daring. Those who undertake displays of such often depend on others to  do their due diligence. Another kind of Courage is the willingness to stand up to pressure, to risk a career, to face ostracism from colleagues, and  to do so in relative obscurity in order to do the right thing. In light of that we think this an appropriate time to remember Allan J. McDonald.

McDonald passed away five winters ago at age 83. In early 1986 he worked for the contractor responsible for the shuttle’s booster rockets. He voiced strong reservations