Where were you when the Challenger exploded?

[Rastus]

I was at my parents house asleep because I was working the graveyard shift and my house was 50 miles away in another town. My mother woke me up when it blew and I watched it.

I worked for Morton Thiokol at that time in instrumentation, testing those very same rocket motors.

Needless to say, that day changed my life drastically.

The first time I ever saw a satelite news truck, was when I went back to work later that day. There were a bunch of them in my parking lot, and there they stayed for three years. We had to run the gauntlet of microphones everyday during that time. Everything we did was filmed, and if anything ever went wrong during our tests (and they did), Dan Rather would rag on us that night. It was not fun.

Most of the inside information I got has already disclosed to the public, but I do know all the players in this drama. I've probably just seen more pictures than most of you.

 

[clickynext]

I did not yet exist.

 

[Kibbo86]

I was 8. I don't remember where I was when I first heard it had happened, but I remember the newscast that evening, and the cover of Time and National Geographic that month. I wanted to be an astronaut at the time, was reading a lot about the planets and such. I already had a trip to Florida already planned for that February; when I got ther Cape Canaveral still had a pall cast over it. There was a certain mood of nostalgia when I went on the tour, which is the opposite of what a 9 year old expects when going to the centre of the space age. Although I did see a real shuttle (from a bus), which was the next one scheduled to go up. Was that Discovery? I forget which one it was.

Bit of a stream of consciousness up there, sorry fuzzyness. Emotion + 20-year-old memories + beer = lack of structure.

I'm not even sure how much of the above is accurate. That's what I remember. I remember feeling really sad about the teacher, Christa I think her name was. And I remember something about an ankle bone being found on the beach. . .creepy. It's funny what a child remembers.

 

[Excelsior]

I was actually a 3-month old fetus at the time.

 

[Michael]

Sitting in the pub at my university sipping a cup of coffee and watching the launch. They actually had a CNN feed but I was never 100% sure if I saw it live or saw the very first replay as most networks cut-away after the first little bit and I'm not 100% sure it was on CNN (university was in Montreal). I'm pretty sure I saw it live but it hit me very hard emotionally and that feeling may have beena dded on after the event.

Michael

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: jinduy
too young to remember

 

[Zolty]

I was 3

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Midlander
I was working. Based on the above answers, I'm beginning to think I'm an old timer in this forum.

Heh, tell me about it. I was working in a hospital at the time, and I went to one of the waiting rooms so I could see it. I screamed oh sh!$ when it happened, and ran to tell the others on my floor. Such a sad day.

 

[George P Burdell]

I was two years old, in a small town in France. Obviously didn't see it on TV... or if I did, I wouldn't remember.

 

[Isla]

I was almost 18 years old and was outside walking my dog. I was looking for it in the sky because we've always been able to see the launches from here.

I just remember feeling very sick when it exploded. My mother was a math and science teacher so it was a big deal to me to have a teacher on board.

 

[JRich]

I was in kindergarten in Plattsburg, NY.

 

[aircooled]

I was 16, living with mom...

 

[Adul]

i was in the admin office of the my elementry school taking something there. I saw it on TV there.

 

[meltdown75]

I was at school, in grade 3.

When I came home for lunch, the pope was on TV saying prayers for the Challenger crew.

 

[McCarthy]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
i wasnt alive then, buti have done enough research, and a project back in like 6th grade on it.

so sad.

and its like the Challenger is remembered, but the Discovery is hardly ever acknowledged as much.

Probably because Discovery is still in service.

If you meant Columbia, that just happened in 2003 - it's just now getting into the history books and hasn't hit the 5/10/20 year anniversary marks yet. The issues with the foam are still being worked out so in that way that failure is still in progress.

For me Challenger was 7th grade. We didn't get a school PA announcement, but the teachers were called in. Between classes the word spread such that when the teachers came to class to break the news they were too late.

 

[CtK]

i was in 3rd grade watching it live on TV when it happen

 

[Asthmaboy]

I didn't exist yet.
However, my brother was born that day.

 

[CTweak]

We were visiting my grandparents in Winter Park, FL and were outside watching it. Remember it like it was yesterday.