An independent film that explores the night before the Challenger space shuttle explosion was released last week, three days before the 33rd anniversary of the tragedy.

The Challenger Disaster, produced by Vertical Entertainment, follows the efforts of engineers who tried to stop the launch because they knew it was unsafe and explores the subsequent coverup of NASA’s decision, according to the movie’s website.

The film has gotten a fair amount of attention from the sports world for including current University of Kansas football coach Les Miles, who plays a skeptical NASA official.

The explosion of the Challenger is attributed to the failure of O-ring seals on the solid-rocket boosters. The seals had never been tested in extreme cold, and NASA had never launched on a day as cold as Jan. 28, 1986. The temperature at the time of the launch was 36 degrees, which was 15 degrees lower than the next coldest launch, according to NASA.

The rubber seals failed, allowing exhaust to escape the booster rocket, which ignited the external tank carrying liquid oxygen and hydrogen, according to NASA’s investigation of the explosion. The tank ruptured 73 seconds after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, causing the shuttle to be torn apart. All seven astronauts, including Concord High School teacher Christa McAuliffe, were killed in the explosion.

The movie is available on iTunes and Amazon. It stars Eric Hanson, Cameron Arnett, Dean Cain and Glenn Morshower. It was written and directed by Nathan VonMinden.

Another film about McAuliffe starring Michelle Williams, with the working title “The Challenger,” was to begin production in May of this year.

Since the initial news report in October, there’s been little information on the biopic film, including whether the Capital City will be included in the filmmaking process.

“I haven’t heard anything about it,” said Code Administration Michael Santa on Monday. Concord doesn’t have a filming-specific permit, but if production company Advent Studios were looking to shoot on Main Street, they would at some point have to file a permit to close the street down, Santa said.

There’s no news stateside, either. New Hampshire Film Bureau chief Matt Newton said Advent Studios wouldn’t have to pull a permit, either – but big studios typically give states a heads-up if they’re planning to film.

That doesn’t mean New Hampshire won’t make the cut; Newton said it’s not uncommon for a company to reach out a month before they plan to start filming.

According to Deadline Hollywood’s website, the movie will be directed by Martin Zandvliet, a Danish director who has been involved with a half-dozen well-regarded films. It is being produced by John and Art Linson and Argent Pictures’ Ben Renzo. The script will be written by Jayson Rothwell.

Argent Pictures did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

McAuliffe was selected out of more than 10,000 applicants to become the first teacher in space. She was going to experiment with fluids and demonstrate Newton’s laws of motion for schoolchildren.

A pair of teachers turned astronauts carried out her science lessons on the International Space Station last year.

Her legacy is remembered in two prominent places in Concord; the McAuliffe Elementary School and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

On Monday, Gov. Chris Sununu again declared January 28 Christa McAuliffe Day in New Hampshire.

(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)]]>