is and I couldn't have picked a better crew to fly with." After the mission, Hartsfield described Resnik as the "astronaut's astronaut", and Mullane wrote: "I was also happy to be crewed with Judy ... She was smart, hardworking, and dependable, all the things you would want in a fellow crewmember." Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base on September 5, after a flight lasting 6 days and 56 minutes. Space Shuttle Challenger disaster On January 29, 1985, NASA announced that Resnik had been assigned to the crew of STS-51-L. The main objective of this mission was to launch TDRS-B, the second in a series of NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. It would also carry the Spartan (Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy), which would use two ultraviolet spectrometers to study the tail of Comet Halley. Resnik was primarily responsible for the operation of the RMS and, with fellow astronaut Ronald McNair, would deploy and later retrieve the Spartan. The flight would also carry Christa McAuliffe, a teacher-observer selected as part of NASA's Teacher in Space Project. Resnik was part of the team of astronauts who flew to Washington, D.C., to speak to the 113 finalists, and provide them an insider's view of a Space Shuttle mission. They were taken to the National Air and Space Museum, where they viewed The Dream is Alive with its scenes of Resnik deploying a satellite and eating and sleeping in space. She told them that it was a shame that they could not all fly in space, but privately she disagreed with NASA's decision to send non-astronauts on the Space Shuttle. Resnik's assignment was tied to McAuliffe's; NASA wanted McAuliffe to fly with a veteran female astronaut. Initially scheduled for January 24, 1986, the launch was delayed until January 28 by rain, high winds, a troublesome bolt on the 's hatch and freezing temperatures. Resnik's father and stepmother, and her brother and his family watched the launch from the VIP area, as did her Firestone High math teacher. Selleck declined her invitation to attend. Resnik carried a locket for her niece, a signet ring for her nephew and a cigarette lighter for Nahmi. Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B at 11:38 on January 28. A minute later it broke up, torn apart by aerodynamic forces after a catastrophic failure of an O-ring seal on the starboard solid