January 28, 1986- Space Shuttle Challenger Lost

[Out of Order]

Seems like only yesterday.................

Remember.............


Francis R. (Dick) Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Judith A. Resnik
Ronald E. McNair
Ellison S. Onizuka
Gregory B. Jarvis
Sharon Christa McAuliffe

[fljoe0]

I live 100+ miles away from the launch site and we can see the trails from shuttle and rocket launches from where I live. I remember that morning was a beautiful cloudless cool day and we were watching it from the parking lot at work. I've seen quite a few launches from where I live going back to the Apollos and I remember what a horrible feeling that was when we realized that something had gone wrong.

[Becks19]

I remember that day very well. I was sitting in a classroom and my teacher had the TV on. We also sat in shocked silence as we realized it had gone horribly wrong. ( I also remember well, because today is my Mother's birthday)

[PatInTheHat]

I think it's one of those, 'I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing', events...I sure do.

[Spideyman]

I'm on the west coast, almost directly across from the Cape. The sky was so clear that day. Remember well standing in the school play-yard watching in total disbelief. Like fljoe, having seen so many launches, one knew this was not right.

[cat in a bag]

I was in a classroom as well...the librarian came running in, pushing the tv cart into the room. He plugged it in and turned it on and we watched. I've wondered from time to time what made him choose that classroom to bring the tv to.

[Todash]

Yep. Freshman speech class with Mr. Harris; he thought it was important that we watch. I'll never forget what the explosion looked like. How shocked I was. How awful it seemed that a teacher died.

And I remember the lessons I learned in the following hours, days, and months, too, mostly about O-rings and culpability and fallibility and how just because everyone in a room is nodding their heads and agreeing to move forward, that doesn't mean the right conclusion has been reached.

[fushingfeef]

I was a senior in high school, eating in the cafeteria when my friend's mother (she was a substitute teacher) walked up to us with a grave look on her face. She gave us the news and we just got silent.

[do1you9love?]

I was watching at my best friend's house. We had a snow day and thought it was so cool since we'd get to watch the shuttle launch.

[Sepia and Dust]

I was in boot camp and didn't find out about it until sometime in February when one of the recruits in charge of cleaning the offices in the administration building brought back a contraband newspaper.