Reflections on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

[mjs9153]

I was wondering where you were,if you were alive then,and what your memories of the Challenger explosion were..for me,I was in school,college,in Rensselaer IN, St Joseph's..I had just returned from a morning class,and suddenly the entire floor began to hum..somebody ran down the the dorm floor shouting,and we gathered in various dorm rooms and watched replays of the explosion..it was surreal,a very strange day,looking back on it 30 years later,reminds me much of how I felt on seeing the 9/11 attacks..

 

[AnnaMarie]

I was watching it with my kids. One was a baby, the other was a three year old.

The things I remember most.....

When it took off, the reporters were going on about a perfect take-off blah blah blah. And I said out loud..."no it wasn't. Something fell off."

There was a second camera showing the family. There was a teacher on the flight and her parents were sitting there, and it was her mom's face that finally clued in the reporter that something wasn't right. I am still haunted by her face.

There had been a contest to select a teacher to go. One of the other teachers who had applied had a camera set up in his classroom as he and his students watched. I remember the look on his face too. I think he was a very good person. His eyes kind of changed and I think it was when he realized how close he had been to being on that shuttle. (He was on the short list.) his first thoughts were not about himself...they were about the crew and his students.

~~~~

The reporters and the two faces....those are my only clear memories.

 

[Arkay Lynchpin]

I was handed a mission patch for STS-7 by John Fabian hisself in February of '83; it's still pristine, save the crazed iron-on backing.
I never thought, at the time (or anytime), that anyone would not return.

 

[Tery]

I was attending broadcasting school. I was in the studio making a resume tape when a classmate stuck her head in the door. Something had to be serious, I knew, because one did not do that while someone was working in the studio. She told me that the Challenger had exploded and, at first, I thought she was having me on... then I really saw her face and, no. We all watched the news reports together, all of the students and instructors and then went home early. Everyone was in shock. To this day I can't watch that footage. It tears me up.

 

[CoriSCapnSkip]

I was dressing getting ready for work when someone turned on the TV. I remember exactly I was pulling on dark green argyle socks when I heard about it. My boss was a jerk and his wife was a real creep, yet he was very tearful that day, received a call from his wife, and was insisting to her, "I'm all right." I was impressed as hell that they could be that human. Also I felt sorry for my boss as he did not believe in God or the afterlife, so would have no comfort regarding these people's loss. My boss also felt President Reagan was notably compassionate at the ceremony, approaching the little Smith girl who was in tears, and I thought, "My God, Reagan's good for something, too!" It was a real eye-opener regarding three people for whom I had absolutely no use and for the most part still don't.

 

[Spideyman]

As is typical with space launches, living in FL, I watched the lift off on TV news, ran outside and looked to the east. Often, on clear days, you could view the launches. Watching the sky, I knew instantly something was very wrong. This was confirmed when I returned to watching the news cast. What I remember the most- hearing the newscaster saying- what a perfect launch, yet seeing the unforgettable image of two smoke trails and falling debris.

 

[Becks19]

I was wondering where you were,if you were alive then,and what your memories of the Challenger explosion were..for me,I was in school,college,in Rensselaer IN, St Joseph's..I had just returned from a morning class,and suddenly the entire floor began to hum..somebody ran down the the dorm floor shouting,and we gathered in various dorm rooms and watched replays of the explosion..it was surreal,a very strange day,looking back on it 30 years later,reminds me much of how I felt on seeing the 9/11 attacks..

I was 15. I remember being in school, watching the launch with the class. I will never forget the date or where I was. (Jan 28 is also my Mother's Birthday. So it is really stuck in my head)

 

[DiO'Bolic]

I don’t recall the exact moment when it happened, but I do know I probably saw the video of the disaster a couple dozen times replayed that day.

I do remember President Reagan was to deliver the State Of The Union speech that evening, and scrapping it. He instead gave an amazing speech on the Challenger disaster.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans, today is a day for mourning and remembering.”

Something everyone should watch if they've never seen it.

 

[do1you9love?]

I was 14. It was a snow day and I had stayed overnight at my friend Lisa's house. We were in our PJs eating cereal and watching the launch. I remember thinking that something just looked wrong. We called our folks at work and told them. It was all that we watched that morning. So very sad. A band called Truckstop Honeymoon wrote a song about it call "A Cold Day in Florida" that I love but can't listen to without crying. I tried to find a link but wasn't successful.

Fast forward to 2003 and I was at our house at the beach cleaning up listening to an 80's station when Columbia exploded on reentry. At first, we thought they were playing an 80s newscast.

To end on an up note, we were on a cruise ship off the coast of Florida when the last shuttle was launched and I was able to see that one with my daughter. I got her out of Camp to see it!

 

[blunthead]

I was working for my brother-in-law at his sign shop. He, another worker and me had gone to a local place for lunch. There was a TV news broadcast showing the disaster over and over. Of course, after the explosion, a reporter's camera focused closeup on the faces of the mom and dad of the school teacher who was on the flight. The image of them is what I remember most about the whole, tragic thing.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...I had stopped by the radio station's TV affiliate, just to hang out and shoot the shi*t when all eyes were drawn to the launch...I could feel the pride and excitement in the control room as the mission lifted off and then the palpable horror we experienced when those infamous words were uttered..."Obviously a major malfunction"...I will never forget the profound shock and sadness reflected in every eye in that room, a bunch of veteran radio & TV people-stunned into silence.....

 

[Shoesalesman]

I was in grade nine, Social Studies class. The teacher rushed out of the room, wheeled in the TV and we watched the aftermath. I kept all the newspaper clippings from the days that followed.

 

[skimom2]

First year of college. I came back to dorm and found my roommate and most of the floor gathered around our TV.

I felt (and feel) sad for the families of the people lost, but it didn't affect me much aside from that.

 

[lowman]

I was in elementary school, we were sitting in class watching it on tv,we all thought it was the coolest thing.then when it exploded you could hear us all gasp and then hear a pin drop,looking around the room looking at all the other shocked kids and teachers faces. At the age we were it was hard to comprehend what we just saw and what just happened,there eere alot of wet little eyes that day for sure.

 

[CoriSCapnSkip]

There was a second camera showing the family. There was a teacher on the flight and her parents were sitting there, and it was her mom's face that finally clued in the reporter that something wasn't right. I am still haunted by her face.

There had been a contest to select a teacher to go. One of the other teachers who had applied had a camera set up in his classroom as he and his students watched. I remember the look on his face too. I think he was a very good person. His eyes kind of changed and I think it was when he realized how close he had been to being on that shuttle. (He was on the short list.) his first thoughts were not about himself...they were about the crew and his students.

My first thought after hearing the shuttle exploded was, "Was the teacher on board?" and it was soon apparent she was. My sister and I had seen an interview over the summer with the teacher, Christa's, son Scotty, who said he would like to go into space, but could not, but his mom was taking his "fwog" up, "so at least I can say my fwog went up." My sister and I had a good laugh over this--never mind that his mom went up as long as his "fwog" got to go!

Watching footage which was rerun a number of times, it was obvious that Christa's father was crying before the shuttle even took off, from pride or apprehension or both. After it went wrong he appeared absolutely stunned. Members of her son's third grade class or Cub Scout troop or both were present, but to my recollection the children's faces were not shown. You could see the tops of the boys' caps but not their faces.

I clearly remember the second-in-line teacher, who choked, "Can we cut the cameras, please?" and the cameras were immediately cut.

Reagan had a heck of a speechwriter and as far as anyone could tell just from what appeared on TV, his concern for the little Smith girl and other survivors was genuine. This was several years after CNN began. The first thing I ever watched on CNN was news of John Lennon's murder.

 

[AnnaMarie]

I clearly remember the second-in-line teacher, who choked, "Can we cut the cameras, please?" and the cameras were immediately cut.

That's the guy I remember.

I also remember they interviewed him prior and having the camera in his class was HIS idea. They had gone through some of the training together before a final decision was made.

 

[kingricefan]

This entire tragedy took place because of an .11 cent rubber gasket. I was living in a rooming house on Frat Row by the University Of Washington when my friend, who also lived in the rooms next to me, knocked on my door, stuck her head in a said that the Challenger had just exploded. I went into her rooms and we watched it being played over. I remember the looks on all of those people gathered outside on those bleachers to watch this momentous occasion. So very sad. RIP Challenger astronauts.

 

[80sFan]

I was I grade school. They brought in a TV into the library and everyone was so excited. Until the explosion. All I remember is the librarian quickly turning off the TV and everyone being quiet.

 

[Grandpa]

I got to an office for an assignment, and the lady there said, "Did you hear? The Challenger exploded." Just kind of felt numb. I was emotionally invested in the space program - well, still am - and it was stunning.

The explosion was caused by O-ring failure. The parts were manufactured by Morton Thiokol. Prior to launch, two of their engineers begged Morton Thiokol and NASA to stop the launch because it was too cold and O-ring failure was more probable. They were told to shut up. One of the engineers is now 89 years old and still carries the guilt.

Space travel is not for the risk-averse. The mortality rate is about the same as climbing Everest.

 

[mjs9153]

Thank you all for the responses,interesting to see what everyone was up to that day,and their remembrances..