28th January 2011 - Challenger's 25th Anniversary

[Holdfast]

Tomorrow marks 25 years since Challenger was lost.

This is a thread for reminisces, thoughts, sadness, hopes and any other assorted memories of the event.

I put a few of my own thoughts up on my blog, but wanted to share an excerpt here too. Forgive the indulgence.

.... It will seem odd to those brought up on a diet of 24hr rolling news channels, but here in the UK, the story was actually broken by Newsround, a daily BBC children’s programme of bite-size news chunks that had a slot at about 5pm. But on this day, they interrupted the regular earlier kids’ programming to report the Challenger Disaster. I was one of the many children around the country who called their mother in to watch what was happening. You can see some (very poor quality) TV footage here. I don’t actually remember any of what was said in that clip. The words don’t stay, but the images and the emotions do.

The story had special resonance for children because for the first time, an ordinary teacher had been aboard, and had died along with the crew. Christa McAuliffe had been selected to go on the mission to inspire youngsters to learn about space, NASA, and the shuttle. In short, to inspire us in the optimistic technological dream of the future. The Shuttle’s explosion was more than literal. Amongst the falling wreckage were the shattered illusions of a young generation who couldn’t understand why such a powerful, advanced craft had failed so spectacularly.

Of course, today we are surrounded by far more technology than could be dreamt of 25 years ago, and it’s so much more user-friendly. And even by the mid-80s, the shuttle was old-hat. Plus, the extensive investigations into the loss of Challenger have explained much of the incident and we’ve been able to put it into context. But we are also more sceptical of technology, and more cynical of the world it operates in, and the immersion it demands of us. Perhaps it’s simply that I am older and so look on the world with more jaded eyes than I did when watching kid’s TV in 1986… but perhaps there is something wider in our aspirations that’s changed too....

I'm not necessarily looking for thoughts on what I wrote (though those are of course very welcome!), more on what YOU remember of that day, and what it meant to you.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

This is one of those "where were you when" moments, much like the Kennedy assassination, the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11 and others.

I was a senior in high school. We had a 30 minute "activity period" in the morning that was more like an extended break between classes where you could go to the library or hang out for a while. I remember walking up the stairs from the cafeteria and seeing people crowded into the library. When I got closer, I could see that the TV carts were all set up and showing the disaster.

The shuttle was part of the background noise growing up, from reading about a "space plane", to the Enterprise test bed (really cool for a kid who watched TOS in syndication after school), to the first launch, to it becoming regular and almost boring. They didn't get the full network coverage like the early ones did, travel in the shuttle had become mundane.

I remember being stunned by the explosion and I remember that not much else got done in classes that day.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Y'know, i was only 1 year old when it happened. I always heard about Challenger growing up, but it wasn't until i saw the whole launch and destruction on youtube that it actually hit home. And i cried. Seven good people lost their lives for the cause of exploration.

The event that shook me to my very core was Columbia.

 

[auntiehill]

I was a Junior in high school, and a the principal came to our class, stuck her head in the door, and told us to come to the library at ONCE.My first thought was, "Crap. NOW what are they angry about?" I went to a small, private Catholic school. The high school was constantly getting yelled at for one thing or another, so we shuffled off the library wondering what we'd done this time.

When we came into the room, there were TVs set up on carts, only one of which was on. There was Dan Rather, holding a model of the space shuttle, but a teacher snapped it off when we came in, saying "They don't need to see that."

I remember thinking, "Then why the hell are we in here?" We stood around for minutes, wondering what the hell had gone wrong with the space shuttle. As 4th hanson bro has said, by that time, shuttle missions were common, barely news-worthy anymore. The fact that something would go so wrong that Dan Rather would be on in the middle of the day was very worrisome. Then the principal told us that it had exploded shortly after take-off.

The rest of the day was spent walking around in a fog. People mumbled about terrorists, lightning, etc, but it wasn't until we got home and watched the news that it really sunk in. It still gets me a little choked up, thinking about it.

And later, when the Columbia exploded, I wasn't just saddened and shocked; I was horrified--and very angry.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Here's my obligatory annual "this is my birthday" post. I was born on the day Challenger exploded, and so for me and my family it has always been a happy and pleasant day. I do feel sad about what happened, but the fact that I was born just hours after the incident gives me a sense of peace as I am reminded that while some souls left the earth that day, others entered it. The bittersweet circle of life!

I wasn't actually aware of the event until well into elementary school. Again, in my family it was always just known as my birthday, so there was never much mention of Challenger on the anniversaries. My parents were a little pre-occupied that day!

Education has always been very important to me and I do feel that I have a duty to Christa McAuliffe to continue to promote what would have been her life's work.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ As sad as my memories of Challenger make me, I like your optimistic view.

I was 24 years old, sitting in my office at St. Margaret's Hospital when somebody poked her head in the door and said the Space Shuttle exploded. My brain didn't really accept the information at face value. I imagined that there must have been some kind of explosion on the pad, and I wondered how bad the damage was. The only access to news I had was the radio in the mail room down the hall, which confirmed the unthinkable. I was absolutely horrified. Every couple of minutes I would head down to check the news, hoping that somehow the crew cabin would be found intact and the astronauts alive. I didn't get to see any video until I got home that night, and I couldn't sleep for several days. I find it just as heartbreaking now as I did then.

 

[Finn]

I was a wee boy of six, wide eyed and in a first grade class full of girls and watching it on tv.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I was a freshman in high school and in band class. We had just finished our warm-up when the principal cut in over the intercom with the news. Nothing but shocked silence after. The career center had a T.V. set up in the hall on CNN so we could get updates in between classes. Not a day I like to remember. I can't believe it's been 25 years!

 

[B.J.]

I was in 6th grade, and I was home that day by myself because of a teacher work day. I was excited to *finally* get to see a shuttle launch live - at that time, I had space paraphernalia all over my room. When it exploded, I thought it was just the SRBs separating, and kept waiting for a long time for the shuttle to emerge from the top of the cloud, but of course it never did. I had to call my parents' business and tell them the news. They were in disbelief at first, but soon got confirmation on the radio.

The next time I watched a shuttle launch live was in 1996 (10 years later), and it was in person. I know it was irrational, but I was just a wee bit nervous. That time, I got to watch (and feel!) a beautiful night launch.

a teacher snapped it off when we came in, saying "They don't need to see that."

What the heck?!? It may be upsetting, but you don't hide news like that from kids. Besides, you said this was a high school, and certainly old enough to deal with it.

 

[auntiehill]

^Catholic school.

Don't get me started. I don't think Anthony has enough space on the server.

 

[Kirby]

I was a senior in High School. We were on a year-round school schedule so I was actually on vacation at the time. I worked late the night before and woke up, took a shower, and came back into my room and turned on the TV.
It had already happened, and the news was already showing the continous replay of the explosion. It was just so shocking. I have no idea what I did the rest of the day.

 

[B.J.]

^Catholic school

Weird. My kids are in Catholic school (K-8), and they wouldn't keep something like this from them. Different schools/teachers/areas/time I suppose.

 

[Candlelight]

It's the 28th today for me, but it occured on the 29th in New Zealand, so...

I was 7. Don't remember it that well, but have a vague memory of seeing it on the news that evening.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Here's my obligatory annual "this is my birthday" post. I was born on the day Challenger exploded, and so for me and my family it has always been a happy and pleasant day. I do feel sad about what happened, but the fact that I was born just hours after the incident gives me a sense of peace as I am reminded that while some souls left the earth that day, others entered it. The bittersweet circle of life!

I wasn't actually aware of the event until well into elementary school. Again, in my family it was always just known as my birthday, so there was never much mention of Challenger on the anniversaries. My parents were a little pre-occupied that day!

Education has always been very important to me and I do feel that I have a duty to Christa McAuliffe to continue to promote what would have been her life's work.

What a beautiful perspective you bring to this, Meow.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I was a sophomore in HS. I'm on my way out of the cafeteria when my best friend Bob shows up and says "Hey, the shuttle blew up!"

 

[Lookingglassman]

I was a sophmore in college and remember walking by a tv and watching it blow up.

 

[Jetfire]

I was 7. I thought our class watched it in school...could be wrong...but it was very sad.

Here is an article; 7 myths about the Challenger shuttle disaster

Myth #5: Environmental ban led to weaker sealant
A favorite of the Internet, this myth states that a major factor in the disaster was that NASA had been ordered by regulatory agencies to abandon a working pressure sealant because it contained too much asbestos, and use a weaker replacement. But the replacement of the seal was unrelated to the disaster — and occurred prior to any environmental ban.
Even the original putty had persistent sealing problems, and after it was replaced by another putty that also contained asbestos, the higher level of breaches was connected not to the putty itself, but to a new test procedure being used. “We discovered that it was this leak check which was a likely cause of the dangerous bubbles in the putty that I had heard about," wrote physicist Richard Feynman, a member of the Challenger investigation board.
And the bubble effect was unconnected with the actual seal violation that would ultimately doom Challenger and its crew. The cause was an inadequate low-temperature performance of the O-ring seal itself, which had not been replaced.

I found this one interesting...never heard it before...I always knew it was what I bolded.

 

[Spot's Meow]

a teacher snapped it off when we came in, saying "They don't need to see that."

What the heck?!? It may be upsetting, but you don't hide news like that from kids. Besides, you said this was a high school, and certainly old enough to deal with it.

I was a sophomore in high school when 9/11 happened and although we had TVs in every classroom our teachers chose not to broadcast the footage. I think it would have been different if we were on the east coast because it would have felt like a more immediate danger for ourselves and family members, but being in California it did seem more distant, like something that we should discuss with our parents after school, not something that the teachers had an urgent need to watch with us. I don't know if that was a right or wrong feeling on their parts, but that's what happened.

 

[Candlelight]

I was a sophmore in college and remember walking by a tv and watching it blow up.

The TV blew up?

(joking)

 

[Canadave]

a teacher snapped it off when we came in, saying "They don't need to see that."

What the heck?!? It may be upsetting, but you don't hide news like that from kids. Besides, you said this was a high school, and certainly old enough to deal with it.

I was a sophomore in high school when 9/11 happened and although we had TVs in every classroom our teachers chose not to broadcast the footage. I think it would have been different if we were on the east coast because it would have felt like a more immediate danger for ourselves and family members, but being in California it did seem more distant, like something that we should discuss with our parents after school, not something that the teachers had an urgent need to watch with us. I don't know if that was a right or wrong feeling on their parts, but that's what happened.

I was in grade nine when 9/11 happened, and it was all over our high school. We listened to the radio during my second period geography class, and there was a big TV in the library tuned to CNN at lunch.

As for Challenger, I wasn't born at the time. But it certainly was a very sad event. Oddly, I find that, for myself, I associate "Challenger" with a shuttle disaster much more than I do "Columbia," even though I can distinctly remember the latter.