Is The Challenger A True Story

[Cherie Trojak]

No, the film is not based specifically on a true story, although screenwriter Justin Kuristzkes revealed during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com that the germ of the idea came when he was watching a high-profile real tennis match.

\"I was watching the US Open in 2018 and it was the final between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams,\" he said. \"And there was this really controversial call towards the end of the match where Serena Williams was penalised for receiving coaching from the sidelines.

\"For example, reading Andre Agassi's book Open was a massive inspiration for the movie, because it's so hyper-specific about the life of an athlete and the feeling of being at the top of your game, and falling out of love with the sport and still having to do it,\" he said.

\"She looked so stressed out, every point,\" Kuritzkes told GQ. \"I was watching her and just thinking, 'Why are you so stressed out? You guys have all the money in the world. You've won 20 grand slams. What's so stressful to you? It has to be something else.'\"

"I was watching the US Open in 2018 and it was the final between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams," he said. "And there was this really controversial call towards the end of the match where Serena Williams was penalised for receiving coaching from the sidelines.

"For example, reading Andre Agassi's book Open was a massive inspiration for the movie, because it's so hyper-specific about the life of an athlete and the feeling of being at the top of your game, and falling out of love with the sport and still having to do it," he said.

"She looked so stressed out, every point," Kuritzkes told GQ. "I was watching her and just thinking, 'Why are you so stressed out? You guys have all the money in the world. You've won 20 grand slams. What's so stressful to you? It has to be something else.'"

Challenger: The Final Flight chronicles the January 1986 Challenger disaster, and naturally leaves out some information that viewers may be curious about. Created for Netflix by Steven Leckart and Glen Zipper, the four-part docuseries explains how a diverse group of astronauts was assembled for a groundbreaking U.S. Space Shuttle mission, and how a Utah engineer predicted that the Challenger would malfunction.

Overall, The Final Flight thoroughly covers what audiences need to know. Right away, the docuseries establishes the appropriate cultural context for the early 1980s setting, and then teases a NASA cover-up that's fully explored in later episodes. Family members of the Challenger astronauts provide on-camera commentaries, while numerous engineers and NASA officials recall their experiences. In addition, Challenger: The Final Flight includes sensitive information about the tragedy that may surprise viewers, most notably the fact that the Challenger cabin didn't technically "explode," but rather fell to the Atlantic Ocean. The following U.S. astronauts lost their lives in the Challenger tragedy: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

For a focused storytelling approach, Challenger: The Final Flight mostly contrasts the human-interest angle with stories about the technicalities of the Challenger launch. So, there's a poignant balance of family-themed sequences and people discussing their craft. Despite achieving the appropriate tonal balance, however, the Netflix docuseries glosses over information about the bigger picture beyond the focal tragedy.

Challenger: The Final Flight's opening exposition doesn't fully explain how much NASA achieved in the two decades prior to the Challenger launch. Most adult viewers already know that Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July 1969; however, younger streamers - who are just learning about the Challenger tragedy - may be curious about the overall timeline. During the late '60s, the United States competed with Russia in what's known as the Space Race, and so the Moon Landing marked a major event for NASA and America as a whole. The youngest Challenger astronaut, Judith Resnik, would've been 20 years old when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, and so it would have been a memorable event for the entire Challenger crew.

Rather than starting with the 1969 moon landing, Challenger: The Final Flight summarizes the sociopolitical atmosphere of America during the late '70s and early '80s, specifically for women and Black citizens of the United States. The docuseries acknowledges that American astronauts were typically white men back then, and that a changing of the times led to more diversity and opportunities for "average people." U.S. astronaut Paul Covey explains that NASA was "shifting focus" by 1977. Overall, the Netflix docuseries explains how a new group of astronauts were recruited but doesn't spend much time detailing how much America changed from 1969 to 1986, primarily due to the Vietnam War and the counterculture movement.

A more thorough breakdown of Morton-Thiokol would've benefited Challenger: The Final Flight, as the Utah-based company was ultimately found liable for the Challenger tragedy. For dramatic purposes, the Netflix docuseries teases Morton-Thiokol's involvement near the end of episode 1, "Space for Everyone," when it's revealed that the company had "a history of problems" with their booster manufacturing process. Interviewee Leslie Serna also states that her father, an Morton-Thiokol engineer who worked on the Challenger boosters, became distraught before the launch and stated "the shuttle is going to explode."

Given the liability of Morton-Thiokol in the Challenger tragedy, viewers of Challenger: The Final Flight may be curious about the company as a whole. There's a suspense angle that the the filmmakers emphasize, and there's also a human interest story with Serna's father, Bob Ebeling. However, the Netflix docuseries doesn't fully inform audiences about Morton-Thiokol's credentials, but rather makes a geographic link between the Brigham City, Utah, company and the Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral, Floria), NASA Headquarters (Washington D.C.), the Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, Alabama), and the Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas).

Challenger: The Final Flight didn't need to dedicate a full sequence to Mortion-Thiokol's past involvement in space missions and rocket production, or even the fact that the company developed trip flares for the Vietnam War, but some basic information would've been helpful, certainly when trying to understand how NASA dismissed warnings during a 1986 conference call about the Challenger's O-rings, which ultimately led to a tragic malfunction.

Through archival footage and interviews, Challenger: The Final Flight delivers a moving portrait of Christa McAuliffe - the New Hampshire teacher who was scheduled to become the first civilian to fly in space through the Teacher in Space Project. The Netflix docuseries covers the events that led to McAuliffe being selected by NASA, and includes various interviews with her husband Steven J. McAuliffe. Unfortunately, The Final Flight mostly ignores the specifics of why she was chosen for the Challenger mission.

To be fair, Challenger: The Final Flight spotlights McAuliffe's charisma and even includes some home video footage that plays over an expositional sequence about her upbringing. Instead of following McAuliffe's teaching career, though, the docuseries jumps forward in time and skips over her educational accomplishments. A Boston native, McAuliffe landed her first teaching position in 1970 and then taught at different Maryland schools through 1978, while also earning a Master of Arts in Education Supervision degree from Bowie State University. During the final seven years of her life, McAuliffe taught at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire. Challenger: The Final Flight emphasizes her personality, but glosses over her teaching years.

Each episode of Challenger: The Final Flight effectively focuses on a specific concept. Episode 1 explains what the Challenger mission meant for America, and episode 2 painstakingly details what could go wrong. Episode 3 tragically documents what did go wrong, and the final chapter explores the aftermath. As a whole, Challenger: The Final Flight covers the main talking points, but assumes that all viewers remember the event or are at least familiar with the tragedy itself. What's missing, it seems, is a sequence about how important the Challenger disaster is modern culture, and how people remember the facts differently.

There are various misconceptions about the Challenger tragedy. As mentioned, the cabin didn't technically explode and cause the immediate death of the astronauts, nor did millions of Americans watch the event on live television (via HISTORY). Still, the event has become associated with pop culture for the sole fact that so many people are familiar with the images. For those who remember the tragedy, it's a true "Where were you?" moment - one that immediately takes people back to 1986. Now, in the world of YouTube and easily accessible clips, the Challenger tragedy continues to shock people because there's so much to consider in terms of race, gender, technology, and mid-'80s American culture. Challenger: The Final Flight spotlights the scope of the mission, along with the legacy of the astronauts, but a little more substance about the connection to modern culture would've been helpful for younger viewers, some of whom may simply reduce the disaster to a single visual.

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