"They slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God." 35 years ago today the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift-off.

[Keywork]

35 years ago today 7 brave men and women lifted off at 11:38 am from Kennedy Space Center launchpad 39B. 73 seconds after lift off the Shuttle experienced catastrophic structural failure that resulted in the loss of the vehicle and crew. One of the 7 was Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher, who would have been the first Teacher in Space under a new NASA program of the same name. The program was ended after the failure of this mission. The tragedy resulted in the Shuttle Program being shutdown for 3 years as a committee investigated the reasons behind the failure and NASA worked to fix those failures. Sadly, tragedy would strike the program again in 2003 when the Space Shuttle Columbia would disintegrate on orbital reentry. Interesting fact I learned a few years ago was that there were talks going on for a while before the launch that Big Bird would be on the mission and Caroll Spinney was going to be the puppeteer. I can't imagine what it would have been like had that plan gone through.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

If you get the chance, watch Challenger: The Final Flight on Netflix. It's a very good but sobering documentary.

 

[HardTimesFamilyPride]

My family was living in Orlando at the time, mom & uncle were in school and they'd take all the kids outside to watch the shuttles launch. They all vividly remember that day :/

Oddly, a little over a decade later IIRC, I was visiting FL and watched my only shuttle launch - Columbia. Not its final mission, but one of them.

Always have respect for the brave folks going up. RIP to all lost.

 

[scottbeowulf]

I was in school when this happened and was watching. Was fucked up.

 

[DJConvoy]

I was in school when this happened and was watching. Was fucked up.

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Me too; whatever teacher I had at the time (it was second grade, and this wasn't my primary teacher, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details) basically went quiet and just watched the explosion over and over, which was perhaps not real comforting for a bunch of seven or eight year olds.

 

[BFIB]

The worst I felt was a few years ago when I found out the astronauts survived the impact and likely drowned in the ocean.

 

[Version 3.0]

A lot of schools, including mine, were watching because of the "first teacher in space" hype.

I personally was not - I think I was in math class. But there were a lot of traumatized kids and teachers that day.

 

[scottbeowulf]

Me too; whatever teacher I had at the time (it was second grade, and this wasn't my primary teacher, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details) basically went quiet and just watched the explosion over and over, which was perhaps not real comforting for a bunch of seven or eight year olds.

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I was also in second grade. Our teacher turned it off after a couple minutes tho. Was a very weird day. My mom was a teacher too.

 

[Bulk_Rate]

The worst I felt was a few years ago when I found out the astronauts survived the impact and likely drowned in the ocean.

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There was some good Florida newspaper reporting on that decades ago. Not to split hairs as their deaths were tragic and likely terrifying regardless of the specifics, but the consensus is that they survived the breakup/explosion and the fall, but certainly died immediately upon the catastrophic high-G impact on the surface of the water.

 

[Morrigan]

I was basically a toddler at the time, but I remember it. It's one of my earliest living memory. My parents were shocked.

The worst I felt was a few years ago when I found out the astronauts survived the impact and likely drowned in the ocean.

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Holy shit, I didn't know that :(
Edit: thanks for the correction Bulk_Rate

 

[ginger ninja]

You can say many things about Regan but dude was the republican Obama in terms of his oratory delivery.

 

[Huey]

Brutal, man - I remember being told about the challenger explosion as a little kid but not really being able to process it.

I did a deep wiki dive into the Columbia a year ago, which is somehow an even more awful situation because the entire ground crew knew they were doomed and decided not to tell them.

The worst I felt was a few years ago when I found out the astronauts survived the impact and likely drowned in the ocean.

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There was some good Florida newspaper reporting on that decades ago. Not to split hairs as their deaths were tragic and likely terrifying regardless of the specifics, but the consensus is that they survived the breakup/explosion and the fall, but certainly died immediately upon the catastrophic high-G impact on the surface of the water.

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I can't imagine they would have remained conscious through that explosion though. At least that's what I'm going to tell myself.

 

[Lakeside]

Me too; whatever teacher I had at the time (it was second grade, and this wasn't my primary teacher, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details) basically went quiet and just watched the explosion over and over, which was perhaps not real comforting for a bunch of seven or eight year olds.

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Same here. We watched live on TV in school.

 

[slider]

Even as I kid I remember thinking "wow, this is crazy".

 

[StudioTan]

I was in school when this happened and was watching. Was fucked up.

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Same. We watched it in class. Never forget it.

 

[DJConvoy]

I was also in second grade. Our teacher turned it off after a couple minutes tho. Was a very weird day. My mom was a teacher too.

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Yeah; of course teachers were hit a bit harder by the nature of the tragedy. It's too long ago, so I don't really remember my reaction or that of my friends... but my teacher watching it over and over is etched in my mind.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I still cry every time I remember this moment

 

[Jedi2016]

I remember it quite clearly. We weren't watching the launch, but we tuned in shortly after when someone came to the door to tell our teacher what happened. I remember how upset she was, and someone asked her what was wrong as she walked over to the TV, and she said "The space shuttle just blew up." We spent most of the rest of the day watching the news.

There was some good Florida newspaper reporting on that decades ago. Not to split hairs as their deaths were tragic and likely terrifying regardless of the specifics, but the consensus is that they survived the breakup/explosion and the fall, but certainly died immediately upon the catastrophic high-G impact on the surface of the water.

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If I'm remembering correctly, while this description may be technically true, I read something that said the g-forces involved in the fall would have rendered them unconscious, and the experts don't believe any of them were awake when they hit the water.

 

[Shiz Padoo]

I watched the documentary a few months ago. Utterly heartbreaking :'(

 

[winky]

A truly tragic event and with all such accidents completely avoidable. If you are looking for a written account the Truth Lies and O-rings is an interesting account of the incident and the culture around NASA.

Arguably not a light read as it does delve into technical concepts and you may not be comfortable with Allan McDonald's account of his own involvement but I found it an interesting read.

 

[Deleted member 60582]

I remember watching this live on TV when it happened. I was 6, and I remember my mom freaking out. All I could really process was that it looked like a giant scorpion in the sky after it exploded.

A co-worker of mine's wife was in the "Teacher in Space" program and was second runner-up to McAuliffe during the final selection. Her name was Margaret Lathlaen, and she passed away a few weeks ago. This event severely affected her, as you can imagine. It was never widely reported, but there was an employee killed at the Huntsville, AL training facility in a centrifuge accident while the teachers in the program were in it, and he died literally at her feet.

`IT FEELS LIKE TRAGEDY WAS ALWAYS PART OF IT` - Chicago Tribune

That accident combined with what happened to McAuliffe and the Challenger crew gave her severe PTSD, and she spent years trying to get NASA to own up to not only the employee's death which they almost successfully covered up, but for the various failings that led to the disaster. Unfortunately, it was mostly a losing battle.

 

[Deleted member 9241]

I was in 5th grade and it happened on my lunch hour. We went back to class early where my teacher had a radio out and was crying at her desk. She had applied to be the teacher volunteer, but the honor went to Christa Mcauliffe. As the class sat in dead silence trying to hear what was coming out of that tiny radio, my teacher was sobbing with her face in her hands. Then, a lone voice in the back of the room said "Gee Mrs. McCleary, it's too bad you didn't win that contest". I'll never forget it. My jaw was on the floor. No one said a fucking word as my teacher went off on that kid and sent him to the principles office. Then they cancelled school early and I walked to my grandma's house and watched GI Joe & Transformers cartoons and eventually Regan's national address.

 

[Haruko]

I love the Challenger songs from We Lost The Sea.

Very evocative of the drive to explore the vastness of space and the fear that comes with it, and the affirmation afterwards in the face of catastrophe.



"...they were here, and now they're gone..."

 

[MIMIC]

I was only a month old at the time....

 

[Landy828]

I was too young to know what was going on. Chills watching it though.

I hope they all were knocked out by the explosion....and didn't have to suffer any part of the fall back to earth.

 

[TheGhost]

Two things I'll never forget

The girl sobbing uncontrollably behind me in my second grade class and then Regans speech

I remember them like they were yesterday

 

[Mr Jones]

That's one of those you know where you were, what you were doing, moments in time. I was in class, watching the historic launch. I remember a kid going oooooooh cool when it exploded, and my teacher saying oh no over and over and over until she started crying. She never turned the TV off, though.

I remember the principal also pulling my teacher out of the room and closing the door for a bit. She was a mess when she came back in. We didn't really do much in class that day.

 

[gilko79]

My family was living in Orlando at the time, mom & uncle were in school and they'd take all the kids outside to watch the shuttles launch. They all vividly remember that day :/

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I was living in Orlando at the time. Still in elementary school. I recall standing outside our house with my mom and younger brother when this happened. She recounted the story to me years later and said I cried for most of the day once I realized what happened.

I think I still have my dad's old FL license plate with the Challenger picture on it. A sobering reminder of the courageous and talented lives that were lost that day.

 

[lunarworks]

As a kid who was obsessed with the space shuttle, that news was devastating for me.

 

[Dalek]

I watched it in class when it happened-I was 7 at the time. Any kid from my generation remembers it clear as day and was traumatized by it.

 

[Powdered Egg]

They died when they hit the water after falling for two minutes according to Dr. Story Musgrave:

Astronauts Likely Survived Challenger Explosion

Retired NASA astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave believes the Challenger astronauts were still alive after the blast.

youtu.be

 

[Turnbl]

Until recently my memory was of watching the take-off at school as a 10 year-old in the UK with my class. In reality all of the news footage of US kids watching the take-off in class over the following days of news had given me a false memory.

After watching some documentaries recently I found this was how the UK broke the news - interestingly during children's programming because before the days of 24 hour news coverage, the 6 o'clock team weren't in the building. Also it wasn't John Craven but a guy called Roger Finn linked to by a certain Philip Schofield...

 

[stressboy]

I was in the third grade, and I remember a friend of mine running up to me and telling me that space shuttle blew up. Had no idea what he was talking about until a bit later when our teacher told us.

I had just completed a model of the Challenger, too.

 

[meowdi gras]

I happened to be home sick from school that day and watched it all go down on TV. Or rather, the immediate aftermath and news replays of the explosion. If I remember right, someone called my mom--my aunt, I think--to turn on the TV very soon after it occurred. I don't recall my mom being all that upset about it. 🤷‍♀️

 

[bawjaws]

Until recently my memory was of watching the take-off at school as a 10 year-old in the UK with my class. In reality all of the news footage of US kids watching the take-off in class over the following days of news had given me a false memory.

After watching some documentaries recently I found this was how the UK broke the news - interestingly during children's programming because before the days of 24 hour news coverage, the 6 o'clock team weren't in the building. Also it wasn't John Craven but a guy called Roger Finn linked to by a certain Philip Schofield...

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Yeah, I'm a UK bod and I remember being at home after school watching children's TV and whatever I was watching was interrupted to break the news. I would have been 9 at the time and it was absolutely horrifying.

The only other time I can remember scheduled broadcasting being interrupted to break a news story was 9/11.

 

[Cat Party]

The disaster was quite a turning point in the scientific community's understanding of groupthink. How did so many brilliant and safety-conscious people allow the launch to proceed as scheduled despite the known risks?

 

[Gashprex]

One of the seminal moments of my childhood.

I remember asking my teacher "They'll be ok right?"

 

[Dogstar]

Heartbreaking. What still gets me is those little kids, watching at school, being so excited, seeing their teacher die... a tough event to process as a kid. I doubt they've ever got over it. It makes me tear-up just thinking about it.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I remember it felt like the air was sucked out of the classroom.

 

[Josh5890]

I wasn't alive for it, but I remember my junior high science teacher talking about. She promised herself that she would never show a shuttle launch live in a classroom again after that.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

I wasn't alive for it, but it still gets me.

This song is a beautiful tribute as well.

 

[Sheng Long]

I remember that day. Whole school was silent and all classes canceled. Everyone was just crowded around whatever TVs we had in the school. I actually met Onizuka's parents a few years later.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

Didn't see it live, but I clearly remember my PE teacher telling us as we were coming back in from gym. Just a terse, no emotion, "The space shuttle blew up while it was taking off."

I did a deep wiki dive into the Columbia a year ago, which is somehow an even more awful situation because the entire ground crew knew they were doomed and decided not to tell them.

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That's not quite right. The engineers knew that it wasn't safe to launch at that temperature, but not that it was certainly doomed to fail. There was a Russian mission that the engineers knew was likely to fail, but the cosmonaut knew that as well.

While there were years and years of poor decisions and planning that ultimately led to Challenger tragedy, one of the aggravating things is the engineers had the right data to show how risky it was to launch at that temperature, but the way they presented the data didn't clearly communicate the risk. A fucking better PowerPoint chart (I know they didn't use PowerPoint back then, but...) could've prevented it.

 

[Huey]

That's not quite right. The engineers knew that it wasn't safe to launch at that temperature, but not that it was certainly doomed to fail.

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This was what I'd read via Wiki, which is referenced:

In 2013, Hale recalled that Director of Mission Operations Jon C. Harpold shared with him before Columbia's destruction a mindset which Hale himself later agreed was widespread at the time, even among the astronauts themselves:

"You know, there is nothing we can do about damage to the [thermal protection system]. If it has been damaged it's probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don't you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out?"

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It wasn't the launch, it was re-entry.

EDIT: just realized we might be talking about different shuttles, I was talking about Columbia

 

[Squirrel Killer]

This was what I'd read via Wiki, which is referenced:


It wasn't the launch, it was re-entry.

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My bad, I though you were talking about Challenger, not Columbia.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

I was a Senior in High School. It was a snow day and my friends and I were lifting weights in our basement and watching it on tv.

I'll never forget it

 

[Kraid]

I vividly remember seeing this on the news. I was just under 4 years old, so this is probably actually my youngest memory.

 

[Rhomega]

This was 3 weeks before I was born.

 

[Illiterate Bookworm]

First grade, at lunch, they wheeled the tv in to the cafeteria for everyone to watch.
We'd been following it all year up to that point in the Weekly Reader handouts.
Quite traumatizing. Don't remember much else about that school year, but that I remember. Besides my Dragon's Lair lunchbox.

 

[Rogue74]

I was 12 and was at home because I faked being sick that day. I was watching on TV and saw it happen live. Will never forget as well. The only other event I remember as vividly was 9/11.