My Personal Story About Challenger

Submitted by MoabEngineer t3_10nwchg in space

It’s been 35 years since the Challenger disaster. I wanted to tell my story of that day. I worked at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from 1981 to 1983 for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics on the Delta launch vehicle program. During that time I had seen many Shuttle launches, mostly from the NASA Causeway just a few miles south of the Shuttle launch pads. In 1984 I went to work for McDonnell Douglas in Washington, D.C., supporting a program at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). I mostly got the job because the Delta machine shop at Cape Canaveral was building some ground equipment for an NRL satellite program, and I was overseeing the fabrication. The equipment was nearing completion in January 1986, so NRL representatives – about 20 or so – decided to go to Florida to check out the equipment. They timed the visit to see the upcoming Challenger launch.

We had a very different view than seen in news footage. We gathered on the NASA Causeway early in the morning, but I was certain the launch would be scrubbed. The temperature was in the low 20s. I’d never seen it that cold in Central Florida during the 2-plus years I lived there, and I’d never seen a Shuttle launch in very cold weather. I was quite surprised when the loud speakers along the Causeway announced that the launch would proceed, and they began the final count. None of people I had traveled with had ever seen a Shuttle launch. I had, so I knew something was wrong about a minute into the flight when I saw a large cloud of smoke around the vehicle. A second later I could see one of the solid motors alone and trying to steer its trajectory. My first thought was that a solid motor had ejected prematurely. A short moment later you could see a rain of debris below the cloud of smoke. That’s when I knew the Challenger was lost. The crowds were held on the Causeway for about 45 minutes, and the debris continued to fall. It wasn’t the heavy stuff, but lightweight Mylar and other materials that glistened in the sun. It would have been beautiful if it hadn’t been so tragic. It was certainly one of the saddest days in my life. Being there in Florida on the NASA Causeway that day made it so much more personal and heartbreaking. Thank you.

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scorpyo72 t1_j6bba8h wrote

I walked in to my 8th grade science class to find my science teacher crying. She had set up a TV in the room to watch the launch. It had just exploded prior to the start of the class. We watched them play the explosion over and over.

Edit: it was a huge deal to teachers because Christa McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space. We had a lot of teachers in our district that applied for the selection process when it was announced.

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immortalis88 t1_j6bklbq wrote

I’m 44 and I was in elementary school at the time. We watched live from class and I can remember how the room went from excited and lots of talking to pretty much dead silence. The only sounds you could hear were light sobs and tears falling. I still get emotional thinking about that day.

Then fast forward many years later in 98 or 99, I was in college and taking a Space Science course. My professor actually knew Christa McAuliffe and he wept in front of class while talking about it.

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zoinkability t1_j6fqxv8 wrote

I was in sixth grade and had a similar experience. We were in NH so Christa McAuliffe was a local hero of sorts. We were all pulled out of class to watch the launch in a common area, only to see the explosion and the see it replayed a bunch more times. Shocking and saddening.

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BOOGER3333 t1_j6bc2sp wrote

We did the same thing. My science class was last period. Mr. Haskins wheeled in the TV and just watched the news. 8th grade also. Very cool teacher.

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scorpyo72 t1_j6bnqfa wrote

My 8th grade teacher was probably my fave science teacher too. She was young and hopeful, a great teacher and very passionate.

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legodoodle4 t1_j6ck9oa wrote

Same here. Must be something about 8th grade science. Mine always said her dream was to watch a shuttle launch at night in person and I always wonder if she ever got to.

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Appropriate_Win_935 t1_j6bc7om wrote

I was in 5th grade and the launch was at recess. We had indoor recess that day, typical Pennsylvania rain snow mess so Mr. Rule brought in a TV so we could watch the launch. A few friends and I were playing on the state of the art Apple II C or E when it happened. The room went silent for an eternity and one kid in my class, call him Mike, started laughing. Mr. Rule smacked him so hard he fell out of his chair.

Funny the details you remember

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yawgmoft t1_j6cwwfr wrote

There's no way that wasn't a fear response

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sault18 t1_j6bg0ug wrote

I always had this memory of my kindergarten teacher setting up a TV in the class for us to watch something. I didn't really understand what was going on at the time. However, I clearly remember the teacher suddenly turning off the TV in the middle of whatever we were watching and announcing that we were all going to the playground right away. It always struck me as weird and we never got an explanation as to what happened.

It was only years later that I learned about the challenger explosion and the date lined up perfectly for when I was in kindergarten. I watched it happen on live TV when I was very young and never even realized it for years.

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Beekeeper907 t1_j6byr7w wrote

I was in the hospital following a bad car wreck the day before. I had numerous fractures and was totally spaced on pain meds. I was watching the TV in my room. I thought it was a movie with bad special effects!

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Palanquin_IR t1_j6bmift wrote

My sister (still horse mad and utterly disinterested in science and technology, now as then) heard about it on the news and rather matter of factly told me 'Oh, the space shuttle exploded' in passing, along with some trivia she gave equal weight to.

I went to my room and cried. For both the astronauts who'd died and because I knew the space program would be halted for a long while.

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My_Diet_DrKelp t1_j6bgaxk wrote

Never really put it together til way after I was outta there but my elementary school mascot name was actually the Challengers. We had a big rocket as the symbol & this was actually in the 2000s rather than being around the time of the launch haha they went ~20 years after the explosion to figure that it probably wasn't the best move to have that as the name but they rationalized it as saying it was like 'scholastic challengers' lol the school changed it since I was there however

I was in high school when I finally put it together what the name actually meant & laughed over how ridiculous it was

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Idbuythat-foradollar t1_j6bpf6m wrote

My elementary school was named after McAuliffe, and we were the Challengers. I started there in 1991. My wife cracks up that that was what we were called and says it’s morbid. They still go by the challengers to this day.

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LycO-145b2 t1_j6cre97 wrote

Was in college and back at the dorm between classes. TV room was across the hall, maybe 5 or 6 people watching the launch. I heard a collective yell and moan and walked over.

I'd grown up around general aviation and was aware of how unforgiving that business is albeit in a "friends of friends" way, and seen some things when we lived in the Andes, so my first thought was a mixture of sadness and "Space is a legitimately dangerous sport. This is not a surprise." I worry that may sound cold, but there was sympathy for the dead and empathy for those who knew them.

On a more abstract level, I'd earlier turned down an architecture scholarship that I was told was in a long term plan to build shuttle support facilities at Vandy. I don't really know, but post Challenger those plans were scrubbed. Did applied math instea

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AJAskey t1_j6bbtrl wrote

I was vacuuming the living room waiting to go coach my 7th-8th grade basketball team.

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MaggieMews t1_j6bob0g wrote

I happened to have been sent to the nurse's office with a fever while my class and most of the school watched on t.v. I was laying there in the quiet darkness when I heard the office ladies start gasping and talking in upset voices. One of them said loudly, "this is a national emergency!"

I just lay there thinking we were about to experience nuclear war. It was the saddest feeling. I was sad I wouldn't get to say goodbye to my mom or see my dog again. Someone finally came in to get me and I learned what had really happened. I remember we all cried. It was not what my scared child mind had thought was happening, but it was very very sad.

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3drob t1_j6c1ulk wrote

Thank you for sharing. I can remember walking thru the student union at college. Lots of people standing around the TVs that were located in the halls, and the area was much quieter than normal. I got that bad feeling you get when you know something really bad just happened and dread finding out. It was one of those rare moments of shared sorrow in your life you can recall decades later with vivid emotional clarity, like it was flash-burned into your psyche.

Manned space flight is critical to our future, but carries great risk. It takes a special kind of hero to put it all on the line to make it happen. The crews of Apollo1, Challenger, and Columbia made the ultimate sacrifice to move us all forward, may their memories be eternal.

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WhatDatDonut t1_j6cdfpb wrote

I was in 6th grade. The week before, we’d all gathered in the gym of my small private Catholic middle school to watch a video about the launch and Christa McCauliffe. On launch day, I distinctly remember Sister Cecile, who was the principal of the school, sticking her head into the classroom and saying “the space shuttle… it blew up.”

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hdtvnut t1_j6cok4t wrote

I'll never forget that day. I worked at NASA/Hangar AE, and my boss and I went out to watch the launch. We saw the smoke and glanced at each other; no words were necessary for both of us to know that a tragedy was happening. The mood among us was heavy for a long time. I could not watch the video for many years.

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Double-Parked_TARDIS t1_j6bame1 wrote

Thank you for sharing. I wasn’t born yet (I’m 32), but I can only imagine the sudden rush of concern giving way to terror and then horror.

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Hola0722 t1_j6cwb9e wrote

I grew up in PA. I was in 3rd grade and was at home because I was sick. I was laying on the couch in front of the TV. My mother had the the TV on to watch the event. I remember the replay of the explosion and my mother crying.

I went into school the next day. When prayers started for the tragedy, I started crying. I was the only one in my class that saw the explosion because I was sick at home.

As an adult I lived in FL. In the town I lived, a school was named Christa McAuliffe. The memories came flooding back when I heard the name in conversation.

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CTWFO t1_j6cyz2b wrote

I was buying a sleeve of vanilla cookies and a coke at the ROTC room before wood shop and remember everyone getting excited for the launch. The broadcast was playing on the TV hanging on the wall. It happened just before the bell rang! So sad!

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EmpathyZero t1_j6d00pj wrote

I was at home watching cartoons when my mom switched it over for the Challenger launch. I still remember her gasp behind me as we watched it live.

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Gold_and_Lead t1_j6dz8nk wrote

Thanks for sharing your story. I was in HS. One of our teachers was a finalist for the Teacher in Space program which Christa McAuliffe won. Consequently, it was live on every TV in the building. I was at lunch in the cafeteria so I wasn’t watching, but I had just got my tray and kids started saying it blew up. We watched coverage the rest of the day or talked through it in all my classes. Such a tragedy. Will never forget it.

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WeNeedToTalkAboutMe t1_j6etydl wrote

I had just gotten out of the dentist, mouth and jaw completely numb, my mom told me what had happened when we got to the car (she'd seen it on the waiting room TV). We spent the rest of the day at my grandparent's house with them glued to the TV and me waiting for the novocaine to wear off so I could eat or drink something.

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Borderweaver t1_j6eusid wrote

I was in my first year of teaching, and my class was all watching it together.

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Koolest_Kat t1_j6eymfy wrote

As a Tradie I was working a Walgreens remodel, they had a TV that they had for sale. Just stopped for a minute to watch the lift off. When the explosion happened I just left for home. I was really interested in everything space and had already set my VCR to rewatch when I got home.

My OMG moment was realizing how many school aged kids had just witnessed the tragedy

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CamLwalk t1_j6hhf46 wrote

I was buying a pack of smokes at a pharmacy in albany. There was a tv behind the counter and i was looking at the launch as I waited in line then BOOM! I pointed at the screen and said "the space shuttle just exploded!" I could tell the guy didn't believe me or it didn't register what I said. He said "wow that's crazy!" dismissively and rang me up. Next day I saw him and he's like "HOLY SHIT! We're never gonna forget each other!" I guess he was right about that.

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