Philip Kaufman will directMedia 8's space shuttle disaster drama Challenger with Oscar-nominated David Strathairn set to playthe lead.

US-based Media 8 is sellingworldwide rights in Cannes on the project, which Media 8 will co-producein association with Code Entertainment and Carol Baum Productions

Strathairn will play the scientistand Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman, who investigates the causes of the 1986shuttle crash.

Baum, Rick Berg and PeterKaufman serve as producers and Nicole Perlman wrote the screenplay.

'This is a fantasticscript and it tells an incredibly compelling story -- one which mostpeople aren't aware of,' Media 8 co-presidents Stewart Hall and Jenna Sanz-Agerosaid.

Kaufman directed the 1983drama The Right Stuff and hiswriting credits include The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, Henry & June, and Rising Sun.