Remembering the Challenger disaster

[Jersey mike]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDRxK6cevqw

I can remember seeing this, and that's all I can really say except how terrible it must have been for their families.

Then came President Reagan..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7icmqgsow

[Patrick]

I watched that and will never forget the looks on the onlookers and family member faces.

[old2soon]

Was in a big truck somewhere in Tn. getting loaded-the trailer-and watching the launch on my little B & W T V I kept in the truck with me. I was TOTALLY stunned when it blew up.  Even though I was watching it live I COULD NOT comprehend WHAT had just happened. Knowing there were Living human beings aboard and seeing the destruction.  To this day the savagery of that explosion still haunts me. RIDE SAFE.

[Pappy!]

I was there. Took photos of it happening even though I wasn't sure what WAS happening at the time.
Watched in disbelief. Many were asking is that something that is supposed to happen? Why does it look different.......until it sunk in.
I also believe we could have located that cabin area much quicker than we did. It was a large chunk and many radars were picking up the large pieces and following them. Not a conspiracy theorist but there was something strange about that.

[vanagon40]

I remember it well as I was attending my father's funeral at the time.

RIP to both Dad and those on board the Challenger.

[Master Blaster]

I was walking out to my shop from my house in west central Louisiana when a series of sonic booms began, looked up and saw several objects trailing smoke, didn't know what it was at the time, but knew something drastic had happened.  The debris field covered a huge area, and they were still finding pieces weeks after it happened.

[Grumpy]

I watched it from Titusville fl, about 5 miles from the pad.  Was hard to believe that happened. A real tragedy for them and their relatives. A lot of them were in the stands watching the lift off. 

[Serk]

I was walking out to my shop from my house in west central Louisiana when a series of sonic booms began, looked up and saw several objects trailing smoke, didn't know what it was at the time, but knew something drastic had happened.  The debris field covered a huge area, and they were still finding pieces weeks after it happened.

I think you're thinking of the Columbia disaster (The one the broke up on reentry over Texas/Louisiana) not Challenger (The one that failed on takeoff)

[Master Blaster]

I was walking out to my shop from my house in west central Louisiana when a series of sonic booms began, looked up and saw several objects trailing smoke, didn't know what it was at the time, but knew something drastic had happened.  The debris field covered a huge area, and they were still finding pieces weeks after it happened.

I think you're thinking of the Columbia disaster (The one the broke up on reentry over Texas/Louisiana) not Challenger (The one that failed on takeoff)

You are right, I guess my rememberer needs a tune up.  Both were a terrible tragedy, but I think that the Columbia could have been prevented, and was a major NASA screw up.

[Moonshot_1]

Was home that day. Day off. Tuesday. Son was 5 years old and was home from school I believe due to a snow storm that day that cancelled school.

We sat watching the live broadcast of the launch. CNN I think.

Can't say that I instantly knew it blew up. But I had it figured out pretty quick as we should have still seen the orbiter ascending and it wasn't supposed to be in pieces.

Pretty gut wrenching moment.


Never really cared for the Shuttle program as I always had the opinion that the crew's safety was not at the forefront.

To me the Shuttle program was like the Air Force using only one kind of aircraft as a fighter, bomber, cargo, refueler, recon, and troop transport. That is silly but that is kind of what NASA went with.

There should have been multiple designs with the crew safety much farther at the forefront of the program. 

One designed with minimal crew and max cargo.
One designed just as a crew transport with no or minimum cargo
I believe that this would have allowed greater ability to shield the crew and implement systems that could withstand catastrophic failures.

But this was not the case.

There is information out there, post mission reports, that have shown significant damage to the orbiters that could have and maybe should have caused even more catastrophic failures. Particularly damaged tiles like what felled Columbia.

We were lucky to only lose those two and crew.

[Patrick]

I was walking out to my shop from my house in west central Louisiana when a series of sonic booms began, looked up and saw several objects trailing smoke, didn't know what it was at the time, but knew something drastic had happened.  The debris field covered a huge area, and they were still finding pieces weeks after it happened.

I think you're thinking of the Columbia disaster (The one the broke up on reentry over Texas/Louisiana) not Challenger (The one that failed on takeoff)

You are right, I guess my rememberer needs a tune up.  Both were a terrible tragedy, but I think that the Columbia could have been prevented, and was a major NASA screw up.

I think both were major screw-ups.

[old2soon]

I was in Dallas Tx. the day Columbia died. Heard the boom while I was either in the restaurant or exiting the restaurant. Didn't put it together til that evening. Watching the news on a newer color T V I kept in the truck. Our Space Program has incurred some VERY EXPENSIVE costs in human lives getting to where it is. May they ALL forever R I P.