Space Shuttle Challenger disaster recent, real-life Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster. Punky and her classmates watched the live coverage of the shuttle launch in Mike Fulton's class. After the accident occurred, Punky is traumatized, and finds her dreams to become an astronaut are crushed. She writes a letter to NASA, and is visited by special guest star Buzz Aldrin. Although the episode received high ratings, NBC would, in the following weeks, decide to cancel the show. On the evening of April 5, 1986, the "Rendez-vous Houston" concert commemorated and celebrated the crew of the "Challenger." It featured a live performance by musician Jean Michel Jarre,
Space Shuttle America Space Shuttle America Space Shuttle America (also known as Space Shuttle America - The Next Century) was a motion simulator ride at the Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois, that opened in 1994. The ride's main feature was a full-scale replica of an American Space Shuttle orbiter. It closed permanently after the 2007 season and was removed in December 2009. The storyline of the ride was that riders have boarded a new Space Shuttle called "America", which is capable of transporting passengers to the fictional Armstrong City using the LRVM (Lunar Run Velocity Management) Warp. Armstrong City