OT Remembering the CHALLENGER...35 years ago today at 11:39am

[PSU73]

One of those stunning moments in time.

STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the Space Shuttle and the tenth flight of Challenger. STS-51-L carried a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite aboard an Inertial Upper Stage, and the Spartan satellite to observe Halley's Comet. The mission was originally scheduled for July 1985, but was delayed to November and subsequently to January 1986. The crew was announced on January 27, 1985, and was commanded by Francis Scobee. Michael Smith was assigned as the pilot, and the mission specialists were Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Ronald McNair. The two payload specialists were Gregory Jarvis, who was assigned in October as a payload specialist to conduct research for the Hughes Aircraft Company, and Christa McAuliffe, who flew as part of the Teacher in Space Project. (Wikipedia)

 

[Obliviax]

I had just started working in Ohio and had a crush on Judy Resnik, from Akron Ohio. She was the first female, or one of the first, astronauts. It was one of those "JFK was just shot moments". I was in the Youngstown office and someone came in. We called a coworker who lived in Cape Kennedy and he told us he watched it blow up.

The 26th was the first anniversary of Kobe's death.

Carpe Diem.

 

[psuro]

I was in the HUB and saw everyone staring at the TV. Asked some girl what happened, and she told me. I was stunned.

 

[kgilbert78]

My uncle had some pictures of that launch taken from his condo balcony--they lived in St. Pete. You actually could see launches from the west coast in St. Pete if the weather was clear.

 

[PSUcup1]

I was in 5th grade “Acorns” glass (basically an introduction to wood shop). Will never forget that day.

 

[ftlpsu]

7th Grade was in gym glass on the matts Sligo Middle School Silver Spring, MD.....announcement came over the loud speaker-very chilling

 

[LionJim]

7th Grade was in gym glass on the matts Sligo Middle School Silver Spring, MD.....announcement came over the loud speaker-very chilling

Where did you go to HS? Blair?

 

[Pocono Lion]

My super senior year at PSU, was in my apartment in Beaver Hill. My one roommate came in and said the space shuttle just fu%#ing blew up.

 

[IC1 Rowles]

Watched it on a portable TV on the fantail of the USS Missouri. We were getting underway for the first time under her own power since mothballs.

 

[sluggo72]

the USS Kittewake recovered the black box from the Challenger. She rest peacefully now in Grand Cayman

 

[ericstratton-rushchairman]

I was pledging that semester... after helping with morning breakfast at the house I went to my apartment, prepared bowl of cereal for breakfast, sat down in front of the TV... and watched it happen live. The moment it blew up I knew it was bad.

 

[PAstr]

I was also a pledge in the midst of hell week. We weren’t allowed to read newspapers or watch he television . At dinner time, one of my pledge brothers asked if the space shuttle had crashed. The response was “you have more important hints to think about!”.......crazy times.

 

[CVLion]

It was such a stunning, emotionally devastating event.

I was 15 and my dad and I were in New Orleans, having attended Super Bowl XX where the Bears beat the Patriots. We were at the airport, waiting to get onto the first of a ridiculous series of five connecting flights needed to get back to PA.

The news reports were on an airport TV... the space shuttle Challenger had exploded shortly after launch. I clearly remember my dad’s voice, “Oh no, with the teacher on board??” Everyone was silently glued to the screen.

After watching the footage, the last thing I wanted to do was get on a plane — much less go through five takeoffs and landings that day. We did it, but I don’t think we talked much the whole way home.

 

[BLSLion]

My uncle had some pictures of that launch taken from his condo balcony--they lived in St. Pete. You actually could see launches from the west coast in St. Pete if the weather was clear.

You could see them from Fort Myers as well... I saw the first launch of Columbia from just outside of my high school library in North Fort Myers. I was under the water in a submarine when the Challenger blew up.

 

[Beachwineguy]

We had a snow day so I was watching from home. The scary part is that one of my teachers, Niki Wenger, was one of the ten finalists. I watched the Challenger series on Netflix, and they had a number of shots of her throughout the training. She came back and the local news did a feature as they had us sit through watching the explosion a few times. Thanks, WTAP.

 

[PAstr]

If anyone visits Honolulu, one of the popular tours is to Punchbowl National cemetery. Ellison Onizuka’s (one of the mission specialists) gravestone is there. It’s near that of Ernie Pyle. He was a WWII war correspondent.

 

[CDLionFL]

4th grade and was the first one eliminated in the spelling bee. I got bounced on ‘possibly’ which I spelled ‘possibility’. Didn’t know anything about it until lunch when I saw my next door neighbor and he told me about it. After seeing the video and news reports, I had trouble sleeping for a week.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Ran to tv when I heard the news. Watched replays numerous times and saw flames coming from booster rocket long before any broadcasters mentioned it.

Later worked with guy that whose friend worked on developing the rockets at Morton Thiocal. Guy was so guilt ridden he committed suicide a few years later.

 

[LionJim]

Ran to tv when I heard the news. Watched replays numerous times and saw flames coming from booster rocket long before any broadcasters mentioned it.

Later worked with guy that whose friend worked on developing the rockets at Morton Thiocal. Guy was so guilt ridden he committed suicide a few years later.

Yesterday was the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo I fire. A lot of things went wrong in both these incidents.

 

[ftlpsu]

Where did you go to HS? Blair?

Quince Orchard

 

[Nitwit]

I was at Martin Marietta HQ in Rockville the next day for a financial meeting. Norm Agin and others were there. It was like a morgue in that place because it was being blamed on their O rings.

 

[TheGLOV]

One of those stunning moments in time.

STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the Space Shuttle and the tenth flight of Challenger. STS-51-L carried a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite aboard an Inertial Upper Stage, and the Spartan satellite to observe Halley's Comet. The mission was originally scheduled for July 1985, but was delayed to November and subsequently to January 1986. The crew was announced on January 27, 1985, and was commanded by Francis Scobee. Michael Smith was assigned as the pilot, and the mission specialists were Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Ronald McNair. The two payload specialists were Gregory Jarvis, who was assigned in October as a payload specialist to conduct research for the Hughes Aircraft Company, and Christa McAuliffe, who flew as part of the Teacher in Space Project. (Wikipedia)

My mom & dad were in Florida, they had just gotten out of the car at McDonalds, and my mom looked up.

She saw the launch high up in the sky and she remarked to my dad: "Something doesn't look right".

How telling she was.

I miss my mom.

 

[bison13]

Sitting in the elementary school gym watching it on TV with all of my classmates.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Freshman year of college. Watching on a small black and white Trinitron before class. Gut punch

 

[Madsol]

My mom & dad were in Florida, they had just gotten out of the car at McDonalds, and my mom looked up.

She saw they the launch high up in the sky and she remarked to my dad: "Something doesn't look right".

How telling she was.

I miss my mom.

It's hard to lose your mom.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Sitting in the elementary school gym watching it on TV with all of my classmates.

The talk for several days afterwards was how traumatizing it was for the millions of kids watching it live. Schools brought in counselors and psychologists to help them coup with it.

 

[TheGLOV]

The talk for several days afterwards was how traumatizing it was for the millions of kids watching it live. Schools brought in counselors and psychologists to help them coup with it.

sir: cope, not coup!

A coup is what President Trump tried according to the MSM.

 

[The Spin Meister]

sir: cope, not coup!

A coup is what President Trump tried according to the MSM.

Or what the deep state tried for four years!

 

[PittsburghBuckeye]

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with Dick Scobee's son, Rich, in Tempe, AZ, the day before Super Bowl XXX (Steelers/Cowboys) in 1995. An AF Academy grad and captain at the time, Rich and his group flew in (F-16) from Shaw AFB, SC. They performed the flyover prior to the game. Meeting Rich, who is now a 3 star general, and his group made me feel good about the future of this country.

 

[RU31trap]

That day is very clear in my mind. I was in an electronics store call Crazy Eddies and stopped to watch the lift off with five or six other customers. A few minutes later none of us could believe what happened.

 

[DandyDonII]

Was in a gondola at Squaw Valley, with dad and sister. Another couple was in gondla with us and asked us if we had heard, we were then stunned.
Crazily enough, was on my way up to Squaw to ski with my then GF (now ex wife) and another couple when the radio informed us of the last shuttle crash...

 

[Aardvark86]

I was in college, waiting in the line to get lunch. By the time I got in, got my food, and sat down at the table, the first tasteless joke had already surfaced from my fraternity brother from NJ:

-What was the last communication from the Challenger?
-No, BUD LIGHT.