Editor says, what if NASA had postponed the Challenger launch? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the February 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.

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Editor says, no disrespect is intended towards the brave astronauts or their families.

Bruce Johnson commented on 2012-01-29 00:59:39 ~ A couple of very odd additional assumptions smuggled in here. The obvious one, of course, is that Hart ends up beating Reagan in 1984 (partly by NOT self-destructing during the primaries). But then you add the assumption of this alternative President nixing the flight -- at least that's what's implied. (If it was simply a matter of the folks at NASA listening to those warnings and making the right decision about the flight, the supplanting of the President would be utterly gratuitous.) But since when did the administration know any of these internal decisions at NASA (that would later come to light as a result of the Presidential Commission's report). Maybe there is some other piece that's not explained here, but as it stands, this piece implies Reagan or folks under him KNEW about this problem and failed to act appropriately.... an accusation which, unless there's some generally unknown evidence the author is prepared to share, sounds more like an attempt to smear Reagan. (My apologies if I'm misreading, but in that case I'd like to be shown how I'm doing so.)

Kirk Edwards commented on 2012-01-29 01:47:33 ~ The divergence must have been earlier.A Hart victory in '84 is about as likely as a Jackson election or Libertarian president.

Eric Oppen commented on 2012-01-29 06:11:51 ~ Gary Hart as POTUS would have been a scandal waiting to happen. Me, I'm so sick of "family values" and First Ladies that I'd vote for the devil---he, at least, is a bachelor or so I'm given to understand. Besides, why settle for the _lesser_ of two evils?

Eric Lipps commented on 2012-01-29 13:44:50 ~ Re Bruce Johnson: Hart's presidency is the result of an earlier POD, specifically that Ted Kennedy's car only *almost* went off that bridge at Chappaquiddick. By 1984, the poltical landscape is considerably different.

Bruce Johnson commented on 2012-01-29 19:20:18 ~ Eric O - :D.. Eric L - thanks for the explanation... guess I was thinking on too small a canvas...

Jeff Provine commented on 2012-01-31 15:45:04 ~ It'd've been nice to see a new shuttle fleet setting up around the late '90s time. We'd have a very different look at space exploration by 2012 from it.