チャレンジャー号爆発事故
In the mid-1980s, Childress was being considered (together with a number of other journalists) as a candidate for the Civilians in Space program, which aimed to put a journalist aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle. However, the tragic 1986 death of teacher Christa McAuliffe in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster put an end to the Civilians In Space program.