I was standing outside the front of the Operations & Checkout Building watching the launch. It looked very different from all the other launches. DOD launches tended to go more to the north. Scientific launches generally went east. Challenger was tracking more southeast, probably due to loss of thrust from the SRB leak. From our perspective, it looked like it was almost directly overhead so when it came apart, all we could see was a big cloud. It was a few moments before we could see the SRBs.
I don't think anyone us thought they would launch that morning because it was so cold. I remember seeing icicles on the pad from the CCTV feeds.
All due respect, but my husband ( now retired) was one of the engineers in charge of the TDRS Satellite that Challenger hoped to deploy
The trajectory was to the southeast because it was headed for a geosynchronous orbit.
And yes, it was one of Florida’s coldest days......