Remembering the Challenger

[puppetmaker]

25 years ago I was home and awake in the morning since I had rehearsal in the evening. Since I was up and around I decided to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle since the first civilian was going up in space. I put on CNN and sat back to watch.

It was pretty much a normal launch at the beginning. We heard the astronauts and Mission Control talking to each other like normal. We watched it go up and the camera changedThe count continued from Mission Control. We heard, “Go at throttle up.” And the reply, “Roger, go at throttle up.” Then something didn’t look right to me. There was a plume coming out of the cloud at an odd angle. There was a pause from Mission Control that went on a bit. Then we heard, “Major Malfunction. We have no downlink.” We waited while the pause seemed to stretch into hours where it was merely a minute or so and then we heard "We have a report from the Flight Dynamics Officer that the vehicle has exploded."

My stomach sank to my knees. I stayed glued to the television until I had to go to rehearsal. There was a pall at rehearsal as the nation mourned the loss of all on board.

There was plenty of discussion at the time as to what happened. As the facts came out we discovered that it was a fault in the O-rings in the rockets. It was an accident waiting to happen but it didn’t until the temperature fell below a certain point for a certain length of time. There was a lot of second guessing. But we picked ourselves up and continued to use the Space Shuttle.

Now the Space Shuttle is being decommissioned with no real replacement in place. We don’t seem to be shooting for the stars anymore or at least not with people involved which, I find sad. Our space program is slowly being dismantled which is a crying shame and I think is disrespect for those who did lose their lives for it. But that is another rant.

Today I remember that day and pray for those who lost their lives and their family and friends who have to live with their absence every day. We, as a nation, were never quite the same after the events of 25 years ago. We lost some of our innocence with that cloud in the sky.

I am grateful that I was home and did see these events unfold.

Comments

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Turns out that it wasn't just the O rings, but that, in fact, it was much more complicated than the combination of O rings and temperature (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/pictures/110127-challenger-disaster-space-shuttle-25th-anniversary-myths-science-nasa/#/challenger-disaster-myths-environmentally-friendly-sealant_31730_600x450.jpg). National Geographic is running an informative slide show (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/pictures/110127-challenger-disaster-space-shuttle-25th-anniversary-myths-science-nasa/) about the truth behind the stories that have grown up around the disaster and it's well worth reading.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

I was only three so I don't remember the launch. However, I do recall one day about a month or so after I had started school when they ushered all the kindergartners outside for a shuttle launch. We expected something big, like Star Wars or Transformers. All I could see was clear blue sky. The teachers kept asking each other if they could see it. Then, after what seemed like forever, we had to go back inside again. It wasn't until much, much later that I knew the significance of that day. It was the first shuttle flight after the Challenger blew up.

The day we lost the Colombia is much more vivid in my mind. I hate how it seems like Bill Nelson is single-handedly fighting for NASA, but at least Florida still has one dependable politician.

[wide_worlds_joy]

I remember watching it go up. I was excited and then I saw it blossom into fire. I remember screaming at the TV when the guy doing the narration for TV said "Obviously a major malfunction." I went "NO SHIT SHERLOCK!!! 'Major malfunction' my asshole..." My Mormon mother didn't do anything because she was too shocked at the explosion to say anything.

It was the only topic of discussion at school that day.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I remember when this happened. I can't believe it's been 25 years already. I was 8 years old, walking through the living room, and I saw my mom crying. She told me what happened and we watched the reports together.

[creature-girl08.livejournal.com]

So amazing that it has been 25 years. I remember being in second periodd at school. Class was going as normal till our principle came in to tell us what happened. The rest of the day was a blur.

I too am sad to see the program being dismantled as it is.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

I meant to comment yesterday and got side-tracked.

It feels ridiculous that it's been this long since it happened.

And of course I remember where I was when it happened: we were living in Mims at the time, about nine? ten? miles north of the launch area. I was standing on the lawn, chattering with my family (those who'd been bored enough to come out and watch the launch from outside the house). I think it's possible we weren't even really paying attention.

It was the first time I'd seen my father cry--he knew exactly what that cloud meant, what the pinwheeling srbs meant. The rest of us couldn't really comprehend it.