The Next Spaceflight App is really nice for following rocket launches as well. I believe Supercluster also has an app.
In addition to the specific books on the Challenger incident, here's a book I recently read that discusses the shuttle program's problems and how Challenger/Columbia tied into them. It answers a lot of common questions (like you've asked), while relating to the rest of the program. https://www.amazon.com/Final-Countdown-Space-Shuttle-Program/dp/0813033845