Where were you when you heard it 20 years ago today?

[auntAgonist]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Twenty years ago, space shuttle Challenger blew apart in jets of fire and plumes of smoke, a terrifying sight witnessed by the families of the seven astronauts and by those who came to watch the historic launch of the first teacher in space.

The disaster shattered NASA's image and the belief that spaceflight could become as routine as airplane travel. The investigation into the accident's cause revealed a space agency more concerned with schedules and public relations than safety and sound decision-making.

On Saturday, the widow of Challenger's commander laid a wreath of roses and carnations at a memorial honoring fallen astronauts, just miles from the launch pad where the doomed space shuttle blew apart 73 seconds after lifting off 20 years ago.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/01/28/challenger.at.20.ap/index.html

[GOPisEvil]

1. I was a senior in HS; I was coming back from lunch on my way to Spanish.

:(

[auntAgonist]

3. I was driving on a dirt road about 1/4 mile

from our farmhouse with my son, age 3 at the time :(

He wanted to know why mummy was crying. I'm not sure what I told him that day.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

2. Recovering from my hangover.

"Da Bears" won the Super Bowl the day before...

[jane_pippin]

4. I was in 2nd or 3rd grade but we got to watch it in the 6th grade room

with the "big kids" since that was one of the few rooms with a tv. It was supposed to be a big deal treat. It was awful instead.

[ContraBass Black]

65. How did you and the other children respond to that?

I can't imagine having seen that kind of disaster when I was little.

[jane_pippin]

84. It's hard to say. I remember seeing it on the screen vividly, teachers

cried, and I remember the room was quiet and most of us were looking around the room at each other. I remember being confused and not quite understanding what was going on but knowing it was something bad--really bad. Honestly, my memory is almost that instant and nothing else. I have no idea what we did the rest of the day, if people talked to us about it or not, if we did anything to pay tribute to it later in the month--no idea. But I remember what it felt like in that room at that instant and I can still see it right now while I'm thinking about it. The weirdest part was the feeling shock and loss in a room full of people and from other people, (because I don't know that I understood what I saw, so feeling the vibe of "grown-ups" grieving instantly and having no idea what that vibe was was strange), but not being able to ask about it.

It wasn't something that haunted me for life or anything, but whenever the anniversary gets mentioned I do get that same feeling for a second. It's just part of the memory of it.

[SeattleGirl]

5. Home, getting ready for my first college class of the day

Which happened to be called "Death and Dying". We had a speaker scheduled for that day -- a funeral director, and then we were going to the funeral home he worked at for a tour. All that happened, but it was especially poignant that day, as we were all in shock.

[auntAgonist]

93. It must have been so surreal

[flamingyouth]

6. I was a senior in high school

I was in my physics class, and my computer teacher came in and told us about it.

[JanMichael]

7. Watching it in a Quantitative Analysis class in HS.

My teacher was one of the 20 finalists in the contest to see who would go.

Needless to say we all pretty shocked and the look on his face was a conbination of horror and I dare say relief. Horror that it happened and relieved that he wasn't on it when it did.

[SeattleGirl]

8. Whoa!

That must have really been a shock to you folks, knowing that he could have been on the shuttle.

[auntAgonist]

12. he must have been SO

shocked, in a very different way than any of us were.

I wonder if he thinks about it a lot.

aA

[no name no slogan]

9. I was home sick for the 2nd day in a row, watching it on TV

It was my junior year of high school. I remember clearly that it was the only non-soap opera thing on TV (we didn't yet have cable TV where I lived).

[Rising Phoenix]

100. I was home sick too...

but I was in second or third grade... I was watching the price is right and at first I was just pissed that they interrupted the showcase showdown with a stupid launch... and then it happened and I screamed and my mom came running in...I can still see the tv screen...I don't think about it often, but every time its brought up...its a picture that is burned in my brain...

[WritingIsMyReligion]

10. Not yet born.

:D

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

11. I was 5 years in old in Kindergarten ...

and we were watching the take-off in the library . And then when it exploded , I knew something was wrong . All of the teachers hurried us back to our classrooms . When I got home my grandmother told me that the astronauts went to where my great-grandmother ( who had passed away a couple of months before ) was and they were alright . Then I went outside to swing on my swingset thinking about the whole thing ( my greatgrandmother and the astronauts ) .

[terrya]

13. I distinctly remember it...I was in Decatur

I was visting my folks downstate. I was driving, running some errands, when I heard the news on the radio. I was absolutely stunned...I was a big supporter of the shuttle program...I'm a big supporter of the space program in general, exploring space is something we should be doing...and I was heartsick to hear it.

I was not a fan of Ronald Reagan, but the speech he gave upon the Challenger disaster captured very nicely the loss we Americans felt.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

16. Yes I remember hearing Reagan's speech again years ago ...

and I liked the line about " touching the face of God " - that line made me cry .

[terrya]

18. I really hate to credit Peggy Noonan and her speeches...

But her speech that day was perfect.

[Midlodemocrat]

14. I was teaching high school.

I had taken in two homeless boys and they were attending the school I taught at. One of them was listening to the radio in my car while eating my lunch and he came running back in to tell me about it.

I didn't believe him at first, until I heard it for myself. Very, very sad.


I entered that contest, as well, to be the 'teacher' who went into space. I got pretty far in the competition, but eventually lost out.

[auntAgonist]

30. I'm sure your

family and friends, loved ones alike are glad you lost out. You won in the end :)

:hug:

I'm glad you lost !

[two gun sid]

15. Onboard my ship at Mayport ...

I went topside to watch it fall back to earth. By 1800 we were underway and searching the Atlantic off of Canaveral for what remained of Challenger.

[auntAgonist]

67. my goodness you were a part of the search group then?

Were you or your shipmates involved in any recovery?


How awful :(

aA

[two gun sid]

95. Yes. Lot's of debris in the water. Mostly small pieces...

the gulfstream had spred what floated over a large area. I can't remember if we looked for a day or a couple of days. Rumors that one of the ships, a Perry class frigate, founds some large pieces. We picked up some small pieces and put them in our helo hanger. When we returned to port some guys in civilian clothes came and took the pieces away. I couldn't tell you if those pieces were actually from Challenger or not.

[auntAgonist]

99. I'm glad all you found

was debris. I can't imagine being a part of search and rescue and finding the remains of the astronauts.

thanks for answering.

aA

[Parrcrow]

17. I was in grad school. I was watching it on TV at home.

[Nikia]

19. We came back from gym class in second grade

Our teacher told us that they were all dead.

[Skittles]

20. I was working graveyard shift in Austin

the clock radio came on with the news in the morning because I had inadvertently set it for AM instead of PM......the radio guy was going IT'S TERRIBLE.....THAT TEACHER.....I knew immediately they were talking about the Shuttle so I turned on my TV and immediately saw the repeating segement of the damn thing blowing up - it was a terrible feeling

[Inspired]

21. Sitting at home with my 2 year old son....

it was so eery.....

[auntAgonist]

39. welcome to DU , Inspired. Our sons

are about the same age. Mine was turning 3 in May of that year.

[Inspired]

46. Thanks, I've been around awhile

just don't post many comments....my son turned 3 in June. Now they are both 22....where has the time gone?

[yellowdogintexas]

22. sitting in my living room, TV on, nursing my daughter.

Later found out that Commander Scobey's daughter went to college with my sister and they were good friends.

[auntAgonist]

40. It sure is a small world isn't it?

such a sad day it was though :(

[djeseru]

23. I was a senior in HS.

I ditched a class to go read in the library, and stopped to watch the launch on the television they had set up there...

:cry:

[long_green]

24. also a SR in high school

that same day, our headmaster was killed in a car accident. Strange day.

[Omphaloskepsis]

25. I was in the third grade..

We watched it on the TV.. (Live)

I didn't really understand what had happened. I was happy to avoid learning about cursive.

[justabob]

26. Algebra II class

We were watching it in class because my teacher was really into it and had applied to be on it. When it blew, everyone was in shock, and then the sobbing began a few seconds later. My teacher was completely inconsolable. I won't soon forget that day.

[sshaw1980]

27. working at my first real job

my mother called me and told me, she was devastated and crying...
the mood at work once the story broke was somber...

america was moving forward and people were proud, this brought reality to light...

it was very somber...

we are merely mortals, no more...

[Lady Effingbroke]

28. In high school...

I was a 16-year-old sophomore at Clear Lake High School in Houston, only a couple miles from the Johnson Space Center. The children of Mike Smith and Ellison Onizuka also went to Clear Lake, and Mr. Onizuka helped coach my soccer team in the early 80s. His daughter, Janelle, was in my graduating class (1988), and the other kids were a couple years older or younger than me.

Needless to say, it was a completely awful time, as many teachers had rolled TVs into their classrooms to watch the launch since several students' fathers were going up in the shuttle. After the accident, teachers and students were crying and hugging each other, and counselors were brought in to help everyone deal with the tragedy. People in the Clear Lake area remained stunned and subdued for months as the post-accident investigation played out...it was definitely not a good time for NASA.

I can't believe it's been 20 years...

[auntAgonist]

41. How horrible!

Have you kept in touch with any of the relatives?

I cannot imagine how terrible it must have been having known these people personally and watching the sudden loss.

:hug:

[Lady Effingbroke]

47. I kept in touch with Janelle for a few years after we graduated,

but then lost track of her as time (and life) went on. Apparently she and her younger sister Darien are doing well, as are the children of Mike Smith.

You are correct about how terrible it was. People were in shock and mourning for months, and it was so sad and surreal to see the faces of my friends and their parents on national TV as Reagan spoke at the memorial ceremony at NASA (JSC).

Truly a day (and a time) I will never forget - thanks for the :hug: !

:hug: for you as well!

[auntAgonist]

51. I still get chills

when I recall that day. Hearing about it again today ( the anniversary ) brought it all back. I was living in Ontario Canada at the time and the space program was of great interest to me and my friends.

thanks for the :hug: :)

[CatholicEdHead]

29. Elementary School

The nuns announced it and then took us into the church for a time.

[jonnyblitz]

31. floating around on the USS Coral Sea on " Westpac" in the Navy

I might have been in the Indian Ocean, can't remember exactly. damn i am getting old.

[bigwillq]

32. It was a snow day from school

I was watching it live. I was 8 years old. It was pretty scary stuff at that age. :(

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

33. Lunch hour. Eighth grade.

I though my friends were kidding.

[Maestro]

34. I was a senior in HS

in algebra class. The principal came across the PA system and asked for a moment of silence. I was stunned.

[DanCa]

35. They let us out of school early. I remember that very well.

I also remember the horrible jokes that people told after it happened.

[maveric]

36. I was at hy home, laid-off from work. My 8-month pregnant wife was working

And an old friend from Boston was in CA visiting me. We were doing bongs when the newsflash cut into the daytime-TV programming.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

37. Working - Chevron. Everyone started to gather around the the radio.

[legally blonde]

38. I was in 1st grade

My teacher brought in the TV so we could watch the news coverage.

[In_The_Wind]

42. I was watching the launch.

[RebelOne]

43. I remember that time well. I was on the phone booking a trip to Europe

when a co-worker told me that the Challenger blew up.

[fudge stripe cookays]

44. Sophomore in college...

essentially living in Bruce Hall in Denton, Texas, where my boyfriend's room was.

I just didn't realize how huge it was at the time because I didn't watch that much TV, and wasn't into space exploration. I think I caught coverage in the main TV room or something.

fsc

[Left Is Write]

45. I was at work...

watching the launch in the courtyard on one of the televisions set up for that purpose.

[weeble_wobble]

48. 8th grade, Miss Ganoe's class.

[Oeditpus Rex]

49. Not me, but my ex

She lived in Titusville, Fla. at the time, just across the Indian River from Cape Canaveral. She saw it happen.

[peekaloo]

50. I watched it from 80 or so miles away in Central Florida.

Clear, perfect sky for a launch.....:-(.

[lumberingbear]

52. I saw the launch outside my window.

I had moved to Florida (East of Orlando) the previous November. I had the TV on and watched from my bedroom window. I knew there was a "major malfunction" before they announced it.

When I watch the launches now, I still think about that day.

[auntAgonist]

53. The launch

must have been awesome. I've always wanted to see that. It would be shocking to witness an horrific scene as was displayed the day the Challenger exploded. I cannot imagine. I pray it never happens again.

thanks for sharing.

[lumberingbear]

54. Yes

My roomates at the time and I walked around like zombies all day.

Very traumatic and terribly sad. :cry:

[Radio_Lady]

55. I was detailing for Clairol with my regional manager, Ray G.

We went into a salon and saw the terrible photos. We decided to abandon our calling on clients for the day.

It was so very sad. I was living in Massachusetts at the time and Christa Macauliffe was from New Hampshire, so there was a big New England tie-in.

[graywarrior]

56. Living in Seabrook NH getting high

[Lydia Leftcoast]

57. I was teaching at Oregon State University, and one of

my students strolled in late to class. He was usually overly laid back, so I said something about his lateness, and he said, "I was watching TV. The space shuttle blew up."

I didn't quite believe him, but after class was over, I ran home (two blocks away) and watched the news coverage.

[joeybee12]

58. At work...when the word was going around, I thought it was a joke...

...something like that seemed unbelievable. It was a time when we thought NASA was invincible.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

59. I was at work

I was 23 and working in the personnel office at a Wichita hospital. My coworker Debbie got off the phone and exclaimed, "The space shuttle blew up!" It was so shocking at the time; I never thought anything would happen to it.

[Redstone]

60. I was at work, and my older son's mother called me to tell me.

I went to an appliance store up the road from my office to watch the news coverage.

Damn nigh to broke my heart, it did.

Redstone

[Missy Vixen]

61. I was staying at my friend's house

I was working weird hours. Her husband was out of town for an extended period, so I'd visit, we'd play with the baby, etcetera. She was crying. I was just in shock. I remember seeing Christa McAuliffe on the "Tonight Show" shortly before the launch; she explained to the audience that if anything went wrong, they'd just land in Dakar and everything would be fine. I think about it now and I'm just sad for her family, and the families of everyone else involved.

I'll never, ever forget that morning. I just couldn't believe it. It joins a long parade of memories I still find unbelievable -- things I'll never forget, things I wonder if I'll ever have the adequate words to explain to our nephews when they're old enough to understand.

Julie

[bleedingheart]

62. I was home sick...and it was my mom's birthday...

she talked about it tonight ...

[ContraBass Black]

63. I was two weeks from my first birthday

And wasn't paying attention.




Upon hearing of the Colombia, my response was, "That can't be right. We don't lose spacecraft on reentry."

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

64. I was in sixth grade english class. I'll never forget it.

It was my first experience with human emotion that deep in all the people around me. We, as a class, were completely stunned.

[aclog]

66. Alot of people are talking about being in school

but I was with my parents at their job that afternoon. I remember seeing it going up and the vapor trail. Nobody there really knew what happened right away

EDIT: no idea why I wasn't in school then...it was like 2nd or 3rd grade for me

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

68. Kindergarten

It's the first shuttle launch I remember ever seeing live. After that the school I went to never let us watch another shuttle launch. Just a question for older DU Members, was it usual for schools to show shuttle launches like that on Television?

[TK421]

69. I was 11, playing an Atari game when my sister ran through the room

and shut the game off to turn on the news......I remember it quite clearly because I was really pissed off ( I was getting a high score in Frogger )

[momophile]

70. history class, eight grade nt

[petronius]

71. In Latin class, as a HS freshman (NT)

[auntAgonist]

72. Reagan's Speech ..

Streaming audio.

Hearing it again .... :cry:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rreaganchallenger.htm


"And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them."

Former President R. Reagan

[Common Sense Party]

87. I was a Senior in High School. I still remember watching it

and hearing Reagan's speech to all of us.

I remember Reagan being shot more vividly, though. I was in Junior High.

[mydreamcametrue]

73. On the school bus.

[liberaltrucker]

74. Delivering a load in Spartanburg, SC.

nt

[freethought]

75. I was in line for lunch at the dining commons

at University of Massachusett, Amherst. I then heard some fellow in line ahead of me, as he was getting his student ID swiped, say that the shuttle blew up. I thought he was joking or something. But when I was passing through the student union it was on TV.

[bikebloke]

76. Busy time for me.

After four years of working in Israel and wandering Europe without much money (but gaining a wealth of knowledge and experience and insight), I was working two jobs and going to school in the evenings. They were talking about it in class. Is it really 20 years?

[Awsi Dooger]

77. Totally ridiculous

I had a latenight job and woke up late. My roommate was sitting with his girlfriend on the living room couch, watching a taped movie. I watched the end of that movie then he put on another one, Finally a third. For hours we're sitting there and then out of nowhere he asks if I heard the shuttle blew up. I thought he was kidding until he turned off the VCR and turned to CNN. I mean, the two of them let me sit there for 4 or 5 hours without thinking the topic was worthy of a single syllable. They laughed like heck as I watched the replay for the first time..

[BigMcLargehuge]

78. I was sitting in Machine Shop Related Science Class

watching it live on TV.

[proud2BlibKansan]

79. I was teaching 1st grade and we were watching it on TV with our kids

The other teacher and I looked at each other as if we didn't believe what we had just seen. One of the kids said "Teacher, the space ship blew up".

I can still hear that 7 year old's voice.

[auntAgonist]

90. oh geez ..

how did the kids react ? ? It must have been so hard for you teachers to calm them, answer their questions etc.

[proud2BlibKansan]

92. They were too young to understand what was going on

[Scout1071]

80. 8th grade. Typing class. We watched it live on TV in my class.

A science teacher from next door had asked our typing teacher if we could turn off the typing lesson and watch the launch for a few moments.

Needless to say, there was much shock and grief. I remember both the teachers running out of the room to get others.

[pitohui]

81. walking down the street

even then i knew ronnie raygun was to blame but it's a memorial i won't post my rants

[CC]

82. Sitting in front of the tv

watching it live with a 3 year old turning 4 in 8 days. The summer before we had been at NASA and he fell in love with the shuttles. We had bought him a foot long plastic Challenger shuttle with working bay doors. Since he was so interested we made sure we were watching from the beginning. I had lived in Central Florida and had watch launches live before so I knew before the news said anything something was wrong. Beyond my shock I was surprised when my almost 4 year old son said it broke before the news had said. He slept with the plastic Challenger for months after until he ask us to put it up somewhere safe. Still have it too.

[SW FL Dem]

83. I was in the middle of a job interview.

The interview was interrupted and we all went into an office to watch the coverage on tv.

[MrScorpio]

85. I was at Osan AB, Korea

I thought that is was pretty shocking and extremely sad.

[applegrove]

86. TV Room at college.

[lizziegrace]

88. At work in Spartanburg, SC

I was working at a CPA firm and had the house radio on. When I heard the news, I turned it up and everyone came out of the offices to complain. I told them to please, listen. And we did, over and over, unable to comprehend it all.

[fortyfeetunder]

89. At work, in a laboratory.

I was working in a lab, decided to take a break. Entered another lab where I found my co-workers, faces pale in shock, hovered around the radio. When I asked what had happened, someone replied, "the shuttle exploded".

I can't go into detail why, but I still cry today, and I will cry again on Feb 1. And I shed tears yesterday too.

[Flaxbee]

91. Jr. in high school, in the middle of chemistry class.

Mr. Cruikshank's chemistry class - loooved that class. We all just sat around and watched TV the rest of the day.

[SmileyBoy]

94. I was in preschool.

I don't remember anything specific.

[Fox Mulder]

96. I was three years old...so I have no idea.

:shrug:

[GalleryGod]

97. I Stopped By my Local Florist to get a bouquet

for a young lady I fancied...

:cry: Sad Day.

[El Fuego]

98. In an elevator

I heard people talking about it, but it didn't hit me until I saw it explode on the news.

[salin]

101. Day off from work - with the tv on... watching.

Saw the unfolding news coverage and the horrible repeated footage (over and over and over again) of the explosion.

[kedrys]

102. Working my first lab rat job at UT Med School in Houston

Fresh out of college. We were listening to the launch on the radio, then went downstairs in the lobby to find a TV to watch the aftermath. The lobby was packed to the gills, and everyone was crying. :cry:

[sarge43]

103. Challenger

Tampa FL on my way to USF to attend afternoon classes. I was listening to the classical station and they broke in with the news, then they played Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. I pulled over; it took awhile to focus and go on.

[auntAgonist]

104. Welcome to DU Sarge43, thanks for

sharing your memory of that day.

aA
:hi:

[sarge43]

105. Thank you

It's nice to be here :hi:

[InvisibleTouch]

106. High School Chemistry Class

12th grade. The class where I learned I could take a "0" on the monthly required oral report, do extra-credit written reports, and still end up with an "A." By then I had almost made it out of the unspeakable hell-years of high school.

They wheeled a TV into the room. One of those moments that you remember with such clarity that you wonder where the intervening 20 years have gone.