I’ll never forget that frigid morning for as long as I live. I was just a kid standing with my mother on our front lawn in Titusville, excitedly watching the shuttle rocket into the sky when suddenly it seemed to expand in size several fold. Mission controllers kept their heads, but my mother (who worked at the cape as a secretary off and on) panicked. I was confused as to why the shuttle seemed to be flying in two different directions, I knew it wasn’t supposed to do that, but I was now paying attention to my mom who kept muttering “where are they, why aren’t they getting out of there.” Something dawned on her and she rushed us back inside for fear that there might be toxic chemicals in the air. At that moment I realized that the shuttle had actually blown up. We watched the reaction on NASA TV, which was already on, and my mother kept futilely looking for any sign that the orbiter managed to escape the blast and land. I saw replays of what just happened and realized that I had just watched as 7 people lost their lives right before my eyes. I have had nightmares of the shuttle being destroyed in various ways ever since. Today I say a prayer for the brave souls of those lost, and for their families, as I cannot imagine the loss of a parent’s life cut short.
I stepped out of CENTCOM HQ in Tampa to watch the flight from the parking lot, as we could watch the contrails of space launches
It was obvious something was terribly wrong. Everyone was subdued all day, as if we had all lost someone we knew.
I remember it to this day
This video shows the faces of Christa McCauliffe’s parents at the moment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gweTH81YZc4&feature=PlayList&p=A692E0899CA07554&index=37&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL