Disaster in the Sky

What made the Challenger mission especially exciting?

• It was the first flighe into space.

• A teacher was part of the crew.

• It was scheduled for a cold day.

• The crew was traveling to the moon.

What led to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle? Choose TWO.

• Big storm

• a heavy load

• very cold weather

• a leaking of burning rocket fuel

Which sentences from the story support the correct answers to question 2? Choose TWO.

• “When the sun rose . . . Challenger was covered in icicles.”

• “. . . its nose pointed toward the clear blue sky . . .”

• “They would be bringing two satellites into space . . .”

• “That meant burning rocket fuel was in danger of leaking . . .”

What does the word revelation mean in the sentence “It was a shocking revelation—and an important one”?

• Disaster

• discovery

• warning

• apology

What led NASA to change how it ran its space shuttle missions?

• the results of an investigation

• the concern of rocket engineers

• a decision of a NASA manager

• a speech from the president

Which sentences from the story support the correct answer to question 5? Choose TWO.

• “. . . NASA was trying to launch missions too often to be safe.”

• “. . . everyone had agreed the cold temperatures would not be a problem for the rockets.”

• “But the engineers had noticed something troubling.”

• “. . . NASA needed to make important decisions more carefully.”

The sidebar “Space Firsts” shows that 1998 was the year __________.

• the first part of the ISS was sent into space

• astronauts first traveled to the ISS

• astronauts first walked on the moon

• NASA began building a base on the moon

Which are themes of “Disaster in the Sky”? Choose TWO.

• It is better to do things right than to do things quickly.

• Space exploration is unsafe and should be stopped.

• Accidents can always be prevented.

• People should take responsibility for their actions.