Trivia

As indicated in the film, at least one astronaut survived the initial explosion. While the film depicts astronaut / teacher Christa McAuliffe during the disaster and shows a hand flipping a switch, it is known that astronaut Michael J. Smith's emergency equipment switch was activated by either Ellison Onizuka or Judith Resnick, who were both seated within reach of the switch, which was on the back of Smith's chair..

While NASA's official position was originally that the Challenger crew died instantly, on July 28, 1986, Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin, director of Life Sciences at the Johnson Space Center, submitted his report on the cause of death of the Challenger astronauts, stating that the cause of the crew's death was inconclusive, but that the force of the initial explosion was too weak to have caused death or even serious injury. From the time of the explosion to the time of impact was two minutes and fifty-five seconds.

The man in charge of the booster rocket program at Morton Thiokol and refused to sign the document approving the launch was Allan McDonald. It was he who, when seated in the back at the Congressional hearing, stood up and contradicted the NASA official who lied about the no-go memo, and then was summoned to the front to testify. Because of this, he was demoted. A joint resolution of Congress threatened to withhold NASA contracts unless Morton Thiokol reversed the punishments on McDonald and others. McDonald was then promoted to vice president. In 1988 he redesigned the booster rocket joints and shuttle flights resumed. He retired from Morton Thiokol in 2001 after 42 years there. He then wrote his account of the situation as co-author of the book "Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster". He passed away in March of 2021 at the age of 83. Regarding his high standards, he would refer to what he called the seven Rs: It was always, always do the right thing for the right reason at the right time with the right people. [And] you will have no regrets for the rest of your life." He would also share a quote by the late journalist Sydney J. Harris: "Regret for things we did is tempered by time, but regret for things we did not do is inconsolable."

The main character is fictional, but is strongly based on Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly, who was initially relieved when Challenger launched, as he expected the solid rocket booster to explode on the pad.

Former LSU head football coach Les Miles has a role in this movie. He is a former national championship team coach turned aspiring actor.