This is topic Just heard on the news: this is the 20th anniversary of the Challenger explosion. in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.
On January 28th, 1986 I was sitting on the living room floor watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It went up, up, up, then it wasn't there anymore.
title edited for spelling.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
I was at school, Mrs. Gunrude's class, and we were watching it with another class. When it exploded, we sat there, stunned. I remember looking at our teacher, and she was sitting there with tears streaming down her face. Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
I was in Kindergarten in Tampa at the time. We were close enough to it that we could hear the explosion.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I was one and a half, probably asleep.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
Wow, 20 years?
I was in 8th grade; my class didn't watch it go up, but we heard about it from other classes at lunch. At first we thought it was a joke ... and some of the kids were even making jokes about it already. (Middle School! ) I laughed too, I just didn't really get it yet. Then when I got home and saw it replayed on TV ... and remembered that teacher (Christa McAuliffe?) who had gotten her dream of going into space ... I was shocked. And I was so ashamed.
We had a 6th grade science teacher who had been in the running to go. He talked about his dream all the time. I had been sad for him that he wasn't chosen - but on that day I was relieved.
I couldn't stop thinking about that teacher's children, watching the shuttle go up with their mom in it.
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
quote:Originally posted by JennaDean: I couldn't stop thinking about that teacher's children, watching the shuttle go up with their mom in it.
Oh man. My stomach just tied into a knot when I read that. I never thought about that (I was six).
Posted by OSTY (Member # 1480) on :
quote:Originally posted by JennaDean: Wow, 20 years?
I was in 8th grade; my class didn't watch it go up, but we heard about it from other classes at lunch. At first we thought it was a joke ... and some of the kids were even making jokes about it already. (Middle School! ) I laughed too, I just didn't really get it yet. Then when I got home and saw it replayed on TV ... and remembered that teacher (Christa McAuliffe?) who had gotten her dream of going into space ... I was shocked. And I was so ashamed.
We had a 6th grade science teacher who had been in the running to go. He talked about his dream all the time. I had been sad for him that he wasn't chosen - but on that day I was relieved.
I couldn't stop thinking about that teacher's children, watching the shuttle go up with their mom in it.
I was in the sixth grade and our sixth grade teacher was in the running also. She came out all white and told us as we were going to lunch that the shuttle exploded. We thought she was joking because it she was so jealous she didn't get picked.
Posted by clod (Member # 9084) on :
I was in 5th hour study-hall in 9th grade when I heard the news. It was a bit distracting.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
I wasn't born yet.
It was never more than history to me...
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Someone called our band teacher, because we had over 175 kids in band at that time, and told her. She let us leave 5 min early, and when I told people in the halls about it no one believed me.
I was in shock, we (the band) had all just come back from FL where we had visited the Space Center. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
My brother and I were homeschooled at the time, and my mom was taking us to the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. We were listening to the launch on the car radio, and it was just going up as we pulled into the lot -- so we rushed to the crystal radio room at the museum to hear it then. We got to the room and it was surprisingly crowded, full of people looking aghast -- and, of course, it only took a few seconds of listening for us to figure out why.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I am so old.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
I was in the second grade, and we were watching in the classroom as well. Mostly, I just remember everyone being shocked, including myself.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
It's okay, Elizabeth. So am I. I was a junior in high school working on an article for the school rag when the managing editor called all shaken with the news.
What a yucky day that was.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I was eight days old, my mom was watching tv and trying to get me to nurse, when it happened my grandma called, and I started crying (and according to my dad stopped at 3).
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Shan, I was teaching junior high.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I was in 11th grade. One of the teachers in our school had gotten pretty far in the NASA selection process for the teacher slot on the crew. I was watching it in the library and he was there. When it exploded, he went white as a sheet.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
A friend of mine's father was also in the running. I'm beginning to think that the pool of people "in the running" was pretty vast, given how many people here knew somebody that was.
In any case, I was in 8th grade, and was in band when it blew up. The principal made an announcement over the school's intercom, and kids all over the school cheered. I was aghast.
So were most of the teachers; we had an assembly the next day to be talked to about the school's collective reaction.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
How did students feel about it after the talk?
Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
I was only almost one year old at the time, so I'm not sure what I was doing. Possibly crawling around? It's a sad thing though. I don't like to think of the shuttle accidents.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I'm confused, Noemon. Why did the students cheer? Was it the way it was announced? Did they think it had gone well or something similar?
(I wasn't born at the time). Nearly, though.
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
I was in Mrs. Piland's class in 7th grade. Someone had called the office of the school and left her a message about it that an admin brought down to her. She read it, then made the announcement to the class. We all sat there kinda like "that was a joke, right?" when the PA came on and announced to the whole school that it had happened.
That was when I started to read the newspaper every day.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Teshi: I'm confused, Noemon. Why did the students cheer? Was it the way it was announced? Did they think it had gone well or something similar?
It wasn't the way it was announced, and it wasn't a misunderstanding. They were basically just being snide little jerks.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
That's so bizarre.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
You know, I wish someone else, someone older than I am, would post in this thread.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Here, I'll up the age ante a bit, Elizabeth: I was a freshman in college. This was out in Oregon, so it happened ~8:30 AM our time, around when I was getting up. I heard about it from someone who'd heard it on the radio, then I went and searched out one of the few campus TVs and watched for several hours.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Adding on to my post: that night I watched the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour on TV. It was one of the most ghoulish bits of TV that I've ever seen. To lead out their news segment, the report went something like:
MacNeil/Lehrer: Good evening. Tonight, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight.
[Footage of the explosion]
MacNeil/Lehrer: Christa MacAuliffe's parents were attending the launch. Here was their reaction:
[Footage of McAuliffe's parents crying and in shock.]
... yeah, really. Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
quote:Originally posted by Noemon: They were basically just being snide little jerks.
Noemon, I completely understand. I was that age too. People that age are idiots, including me. I didn't think, I just reacted the way the other sheep reacted. Make a joke of everything. Laugh at the world. Nothing can actually touch you, it wouldn't be cool for people to see you're sad for someone else.
When I got alone and really thought about it ... I was horrified, grieving for them, ashamed of myself.
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
I was five, and my parents were still in bed, and I was alone in the living room watching Muppet Babies on TV when they interrupted it to show the shuttle launch. (IIRC, they used to do that to show all the launches live, but I don't think they do anymore.) I remember being very annoyed that they'd interrupted my favorite show because it seemed to me that they did this all the time, and all the launches looked the same and were therefore no longer interesting. Then when the explosion happened, I was mostly confused and a little scared - I think I was too little to immediately understand the implications, and no grownups were around to explain it to me right then. But after I realized what had happened, I decided that I didn't really want to be an astronaut anymore and moved on to obsessing over dinosaurs.
Even now if I take one of those "What's your perfect career" type quizzes, if astronaut comes up as an option, I never choose it because I remember the Challenger explosion. Even in the hypothetical, the what-if factor is too strong...it's one of the few things that's permanently gotten past my usual rose-colored glasses romanticized view of the world.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I was in high school. Lunch had just ended and I was getting ready to go to espaņol when a few people started saying they had heard the Challenger had exploded. I did not believe them. (I have always had an amazing ability to refuse to believe news I do not want to be true, until smacked in the face with evidence.) About ten minutes into class, a school administrator came on the PA and told us, and I guess we prayed or something. Nobody cheered, I don't think.
-o-
To bring the teacher in space thing full circle, about four years ago, NASA decided to revive the program. Several of my kids knew of my interest in space and my love of science fiction, and nominated me. I thought I probably had decent odds, given the breadth of my background. My wife was pretty upset, out of concern that there could be another Challenger, but acknowledged that the odds of that were really rather small, and that this would be a wonderful opportunity for me, and so I was going ahead with the process. Then one morning (in February?) I was awakened by a phone call from my father, saying that Columbia had exploded. Again, I did not believe him until I turned on the TV and saw it for myself.
Also, a week or two earlier, I had watched that mission lift off with my students. We are close enough to the Cape that you can see the shuttle lift off, and hear the two sonic booms as it lands. Lift off was absolutely beautiful.
Aw, crap.
Why did I click on this thread?
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
quote:Why did I click on this thread?
I know. I avoided all the news links on MSN, etc, yesterday because I knew it would just make me sad. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:I was five, and my parents were still in bed, and I was alone in the living room watching Muppet Babies on TV when they interrupted it to show the shuttle launch. (IIRC, they used to do that to show all the launches live, but I don't think they do anymore.)
This is a common misconception. The shuttle launch did not pre-empt programming; most people who remember seeing the launch "live" actually saw tape of the explosion, which DID pre-empt programming in most markets. But that wasn't live; it aired after the explosion, as a news bulletin. Very few people who were not in school that day saw the launch on live TV.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I thought that was odd, too--I also recall that launches were considered commonplace and were no longer broadcast live on any major TV outlets by this time.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
quote:Originally posted by Elizabeth: Shan, I was teaching junior high.
*grin*
You win!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I remember the aftermath (the debates about what the cause had been, and Feynman's demonstration) much better than the actual event. I was in seventh grade and I have a vague memory of finding out during school. I was on the West Coast so it must have happened not long after school began. I seem to recall another teacher coming into our class, upset, and whispering to the teacher . . . who told us.
The next day I found out that a classmate (who had stayed home to watch the launch) was a cousin (third? fourth? anyway, not a close relative) of Christa MacAuliffe.
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: This is a common misconception. The shuttle launch did not pre-empt programming; most people who remember seeing the launch "live" actually saw tape of the explosion, which DID pre-empt programming in most markets. But that wasn't live; it aired after the explosion, as a news bulletin. Very few people who were not in school that day saw the launch on live TV.
Yeah, I know the Challenger airings weren't live. I was referring to the slew of launches in '85 - it seemed like every time they had one (including the non-disasters), they'd interrupt TV on all the networks. But that's just what I remember - it's possible that I only saw that a few times and my little-kid perception exaggerated my memory. Or were all the other launches also not aired live? And if not, why did they bother interrupting broadcasts if it wasn't an emergency?
Edit: And whoops, I just did the math - I was just four-and-a-half, only in preschool. Which might further explain my fuzzy memory of that day.
[ January 30, 2006, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: Nell Gwyn ]
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
I was a couple months old, but my mom was watching the news footage and crying as she fed me. She always says how distinct the memory is. (I obviously have no recollection of this.)
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
My oldest child was a couple of months old (born November 85). I was riding with my aunt as she was taking us into the city for something and we heard the news on the radio. We were shocked.
Hard to believe that none of my children are old enough to remember that happening. It seems so recent in my own mind.
FG
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:I did not believe them. (I have always had an amazing ability to refuse to believe news I do not want to be true, until smacked in the face with evidence.)
Icky, that was my reaction to 9/11. I was positive for the first hour or so (before I could get to a news outlet of any kind) that it had to have been a hoax.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Me too. One of my kids had been called to the office because he was in trouble for something or other, and when he came back, he was talking about how terrorists were hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings all over the place. I told him to sit down and be quiet.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
(He was a very precocious kid and not altogether trustworthy.)
Posted by Silent E (Member # 8840) on :
I was in seventh grade, in English class. The principal announced the explosion over the intercom.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
I was in first grade. I came home for lunch that day and my mom was watching the footage in our living room, just aghast. She explained to me what happened and I remember clearly feeling sad and worried about those people's families.
I don't remember what happened at school after that, but I remember the news footage for days and days. The shape of the cloud as it exploded and seemed to just disappear. I don't think I'll ever forget that.
Posted by andi330 (Member # 8572) on :
First grade. Six years old about to be seven. My teacher wanted us to watch the first teacher go into space. When the shuttle blew up, I remember that I'd never seen her move so fast before as she did to turn the tv off. I guess she was hoping that if she got the tv off fast enough, we wouldn't believe what we saw. Or maybe she was just scared they would play it back again.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
) I laughed too, I just didn't really get it yet. Then when I got home and saw it replayed on TV ... and remembered that teacher (Christa McAuliffe?) who had gotten her dream of going into space ... I was shocked. And I was so ashamed. ![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
- I was just four-and-a-half, only in preschool. Which might further explain my fuzzy memory of that day.