The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986 is an event seared into the memory of people all over the world. In a new book,  Adam Higginbotham gives a compelling account of how, in his words, America’s “smartest minds … unwittingly sent seven men and women to their deaths.” One of those women, famously, was Christa McAuliffe who was supposed to become the first Teacher in Space.