How did the people react to the Challenger explosion?

The people's reaction was devastating. Some people lost family members which was really hard for them to go through. People just didn't know what to say. All they could say is " how can this of happen?" The Challenger disaster shocked many because NASA had not lost any astronauts during a mission up until then. People had forgotten the dangers of space travel and this was a wake-up call for everyone, especially those in NASA where some degree of complacency had crept in. The disaster prompted investigations into NASA's operations which changed the way missions were planned and their function. The degree of shock and grief was heightened because one of the astronauts was civilian Christa McAuliffe who was to have been the first teacher in space. Many schoolchildren were watching the launch and saw the disaster as it happened.