Posted on 01/28/2005 5:17:59 PM PST by silverleaf
Edited on 01/28/2005 7:01:57 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
http://www.cnn.com/resources/video.almanac/1986/challenger/challenger.lg.mov
The 25th mission in the Space Shuttle program, flown by the Challenger, ended tragically with the loss of its seven crew members and destruction of the vehicle when it exploded shortly after launch.
Back row from left to right: Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist; Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; and Judith Resnik, mission specialist.
Front row from left to right: Michael Smith, pilot; Francis Scobee, commander; and Ronald McNair, mission specialist.
Of course I remember... and to this day I find it difficult to watch it.
Yes I do remember. I was watching it on television. An acquaintance of mine, Barbara Morgan, was the runner up for the teacher in space program, and was working at the space center at the time of the explosion.
I used to work a night shift, and would get to bed around 4:00 a.m., then wake up somewhere between 11:00 a.m. and noon. On the morning of the Challenger disaster I had a horrible dream about airplanes crashing. I woke up immediately afterward, then turned on the television just in time to see the tail end of what had happened.
Actually, I do. I was working as a chef in a restaurant in Santa Rosa, CA, and the busboy came into the kitchen and said, "hey, did you hear, the Challenger blew up." We all thought he was trying to pull off a really, really bad joke, and he got extremely angry and told us to turn on the radio.
I went into the walk-in (a large cooler, which is the only place you can have privacy in a restaurant) and burst into tears. I was a kid when JFK was killed, and this was almost as bad.
I was at the copy maching working for General Foods in White Plains. I can't remember what I did yesterday but I remember that!
I was in San Jose Airport in a departure lounge. I worked on that project -- held off the tears until I got home.
I remember...I watched it on tv as it happened, Jarvis was from my home town, Mohawk, NY and went to the same high school that I graduated from. They later re-named the school after him...
I was in school. Fifth grade, in Valley Springs, SD. They made an announcement that we should turn on the TV, so my teacher did, and we watched the coverage the rest of the day.
I was 23, recently graduated from college, and jobhunting. I was still in my bathrobe at 11 am and my mom called to tell me what had happened. I turned on the TV and saw the endless coverage.
I remember. I was watching in stunned disbelief. The phone rang three times in quick succession. Three friends who had been teachers were calling.
That was half a lifetime ago for me.
It distinctly changed my life, that's for sure. I had just reported aboard the USS Hoist (Rescue Salage ship) fresh outta navy bootcamp and engineman a-school. Wasn't there a week when we were sent to relieve one of the initial response salvage boat that had already been salvaging the wreckage for a month. By the time we arrived on station the divers were bringing up the rest of the pieces in milk crates. Seeing the dive operations going on inspired me to go to dive school to do the same. Now I'm an Master scuba instructor.
I found this tribute- the music and seeing and hearing President Reagan brought me to tears..
http://www.31alumni.com/31challenger1986.mpg
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