1/28/05 marks 19 years since the Challenger disaster...

Is that hard to believe or what? I can still see it clearly in my mind's eye. I still get choked up about it. RIP.

The space program was still regarded as being so hopeful and exciting, not the cynicism you see now. So tragic.

It's my image of what 4th graders in '63 watched or listened to.

I was in 2nd grade, and we were watching it on television when it happened.

but apparently I was only in 1st grade.

our French teacher came in and told us. it's the first "national event" that i clearly remember.

I clearly remember my mom being REALLY upset by it. :cry:

I think it's the first historical event that I can remember. I remember reading all about the teacher who was on board and thinking it was so cool she was chosen to go. :(

I stood right next to Story Musgrave.

Also had the please of working with Lorna Onizuka, who was the wife of Ellison Onizuka who died aboard Challenger, on a couple of occasions.

Can't wait for RTF later this year.

"Where were they GOING, anyway?"

I was horrified. She was just confused.

I just remember the immediate shock and disbelief that such a thing had actually happened.

watch the launch live.
When the explosion happened, all I could think of was the proud families there to watch their loved ones go into space and the immeasurable horror of watching helplessly as they perished.

THEN:
the news cameras focused their attention on the faces of the grief stricken families...unable to look away...I had never been as angry with nameless, faceless NEWS than I was at that moment, I realized that ratings were worth more to them than compassion. The pictures of the explosion would have been horrific enough...but those faces. :cry:

faces of Mrs. McCulliff parents, my heart hurt for them it still does

I was working swing shift, so I did get up until around 9 or 10.

I turned on the news and just from the looks on faces if the anchors I knew something horrible happened. My stomach turned when they replayed the launch and the explosion.

i'll never forget it.

My daughter was five and she was upstairs watching tv with her uncle. She came down and told me, "I saw a space ship blow up" and I said, "That's nice, honey" thinking she meant that she saw the launch. Then I turned on the television. :(

Very sad day, indeed. I'll never forget the way the media played and replayed and replayed the faces of Christa McCauliffe's parents as they watched... and then realized what they'd seen. It was obscene, a horrible invasion of privacy, I thought.

...and then it happened. Senior in high school at the time and still can't get the images outta my head. It was the same sick feeling when Columbia went down.

sitting in a professor's office and she was on the phone and she let out a yelp and then she told me what happened. Incredibly sad.

OTOH, the Columbia disaster was not exactly the biggest story of 2003.

They were still using it as a power plant until recently. :scared:

reading with the news on and they started the launch and poof I thought:wtf: This can't be. Of course in minutes it was confirmed that it was , of course gone, and you had to just know it wasn't gonna have a good out come. I was a kid and was excited during the first of the trips into space and I remember some really horrible happenings and scary moments but I must say that watching the shuttle blow apart before my eyes, the program was never the same for me

I later found out that my sister went to college with the Commander's daughter and was a close friend.

on the balcony of my apartments in South Daytona, Fl. I had been watching TV and ran outside to watch it just like I always did whenever there was a launch. I was in complete shock and just stood there crying. I never thought something like that would happen. Such a horrible day.

I was in my physics class when we heard about it.

it was going to be the education space trip

having been in grad school in the 60s, I found it stunning talking to college students in 89 - 91 and learning their memories of world events started with Reagan's being shot and the Challenger blowing up

the funny thing is, i can't remember at all how i found out. i know i was working at my assistanceship in the cateloging dept. of the college library, and i suppose someone must have come in and told us, but i can't remember.

i do remember being shocked that i heard someone make a joke about it that day.

i'm probably one of the only people in america who never saw the explosion, either live or in replay.

i had been very excited about the teacher in space program. i figured, if they can send up a teacher, why not a librarian? *sigh* guess i'll never get there now.

I don't remember seeing or hearing anything about it happening. Then again, I was only 3 1/2.

We had a snow day off from school, watched the launch live. Cried all day.:cry: A very sad day.

I was in my Final year of Film School, Driving up the San Marcos Pass, in California, Heading to Santa Maria, CA.

I've always been really into NASA stuff, and it took at least an hour for me to get to a T.V. Store (remember those?) so I could see the footage.

I still have the Video Tape of CNN that day, haven't watched it for a while though. Might have to do that.:grouphug:

:D:D:D

It seems like everyone who posted here was at least in grade school at the time.

They goin' to the Cup, eh?:evilgrin:

I kept hearing about "that poor teacher" - I started saying what, what? Then they were saying "this is terrible" and speculating about terrorism and I figured something had happened to the Challenger. I turned on the TV and saw one of the thousand replays of that terrible moment.

Its hard to believe she'll be 24 this year. I still have the paper from the next day, with the headlines and the pictures...shrink wrapped so that she has a "keepsake" of what has happened in her lifetime.

I'll never forget it. A co-worker came and got us to watch in the office kitchen.

I'm sorry to say that Challenger just happened in the background for us. Chernobyl, however, was going to poison everything and was very scary.

My teacher had applied to be able to go. They chose Christa McCauliff. My history teacher was SO excited for her. It was something we learned about for like weeks and weeks before hand. She had a TV brought into the room that day so we could watch the launch. I remember when it happened there were those few seconds where everyone was like.....????

My teacher started crying & told us all to think positive thoughts & send positive energy to the crews families. She was FURIOUS that the news showed the McCauliffs reaction & just kept saying that we should focus on sending positivity.

(I went to school in good old Sherman Oaks, CA. They didn't tell you to pray there) :hi:


I for one can not believe it's been almost 2 decades! Still so sad.
I still have the NASA teacher in Space program Patch. (Something we had to write in for & got for participating in learning about it in History.. I think it came like 3 days before the launch)

The shop teacher was taking attendance when he was interrupted by another teacher who came in to tell him what had happened. I was numb when he told us.

My beloved Chicago Bears had won the Super Bowl the night before and it was a really loooong night.

I remember seeing the coverage of it though. It really bummed me out after being so happy the night before. Really took the edge off the celebrations, for sure.