Challenger / Columbia

[APG85]

Not the correct forum for this but...with the anniversaries of both disasters I thought the following link had an interesting video retrospective... Sad stuff

http://www.chrisvalentines.com/sts107/intromtt.html

[mustangdriver]

Very interesting. I was really young, but remember the Challenger explosion. The Columbia one is still fresh in my mind. I will never forget what I was doing when that happened.

[Jack Cook]

Jan. 29, 1986 I was in boot camp and all the companies where marching on the grinder. They stopped the whole thing and made the annoucement and then the chaplin came out and we all said a prayer for the crew

[tulsaboy]

I was in second grade and watched it live on television as part of the "teachers in space" program in our elementary school's media center. When I got home from school, my mom just sat down on the couch and cried.

[CWBuff]

I was in school at the time (8th grade). I remember my science teacher asking me to tell everyone what I knew about the shuttle because she knew that my Dad was involved in the space program... and I also remember thinking, "My Dad's the rocket scientist, lady... not me..." LOL

Anyhoo, let's also not forget about Apollo 1... January 27th, 1967...


Fade to Black...

[Connery]

Jan. 29, 1986 I was in boot camp and all the companies where marching on the grinder. They stopped the whole thing and made the annoucement and then the chaplin came out and we all said a prayer for the crew

I was a week away from going to basic training when it happened....

[tom d. friedman]

was at work when i watched the challenger tragedy. i was a manager with hills dept stores in roanoke virginia, just came back from lunch, went to the electronics dept, where all the tv's were on, i'm standing their with customers & my employees when i heard "go for throttle up" then boom!!! i said it blew up!!! people looked at me like i was crazy at 1st. i told another manager minutes later, & he thought i was joking!!

[Randy Wilson]

I very well remember both the Apollo 1 fire and also the loss of the Challenger - I was working at home the day of the Challenger explosion and watching it in the backround on TV, when I suddenly looked up and saw the vapor cloud of the explosion and knew even before the announcers had a chance to say anything, it was gone. Very sad.

I also remember driving thru central Texas and listening to the radio reports of the first lunar landing with baited breath and amazement. I may date myself but grew up reading Tom Swift Jr. and all the science fiction about men and machines I could lay may hands on. Not to mention a lot of books about WWI and WWII aviation as well as submarines - which do fly - just thru a much thicker medium! I have a cap on my mantle from a WWII submarine veteran that I gave a ride to in our SNJ - it says simply "Bottom Gun" over a set of dolphins - I love it!

Randy

[oshosh84]

I don't really remember when Challenger exploded, but I do remember where I was when Columbia was lost. Dekalb county Jail, Cell block E, cell 1, bed 2. I had just woken up and it was on the TV. Nobody really cared other than me, I just kept my mouth shut. Later that day I put my celly in a headlock and ran him into the wall.... i guess im getting OT

[Shay]

Challenger - 4th grade, Mrs. Dana's class, Trumball Park Elementry, Papillion, NE. My dad was stationed at Offutt AFB at the time.

Columbia - Norfolk, VA on I-64 listening to the radio. I was stationed at NAB Littlecreek at the time.

September, 11 2001 - on Quarterdeck watch at NAVSPECWARGRUTWO at NAB Littlecreek. We went from Threat condition Alpha to Charlie to Delta(Lock down) in 10 minutes time.

Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

[King]

Apollo 1 - to young to remember well.

Challenger - Skipped class in College to watch the launch.

Columbia - Watching the morning news (waiting on the wife), getting ready to go to San Antonio to the Harley-Davidson shop.

Sept. 11 - at work, saw a news flash and then my sister called and told me about the jet into the first tower. Went home and watched the second jet into the the tower and pretty much stayed home all day.

My birthday is today the 28th, so Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia are always in my mind.

[ffuries]

Challenger: Basic Training at Lackland AFB TX. I remember our T.I.'s coming in and telling us about it, we were in disbelief.

Columbia: At work, Eglin Aux Fld 3 (aka Duke Field)

9-11: At work, Eglin Aux Fld 3, (aka Duke Field), as soon as this happened we knew the unit would be heading out soon, and we did.

Mike
Aircrew Life Support
"Your Life is OUr Business"

[marine air]

We had an article today in the "Tennessean" that noted that the Columbia, Challenger, and the Apollo 1 accidents, all happened within the same time of the year. This is the 40th anniversary of Gus Grissom and others losing their life on the launch pad. Last transmission uttered "fire in the cockpit!"

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

I was in the gift shop at the Air and Space Museum in DC when I overheard a conversation between the people I was behind in line and the clerk. I asked her what happened and she told me of the explosion.

They had set up a kiosk in the Space section of the main floor that contained TVs for the broadcasts of the Teacher in Space.

I hurried down the concourse and was one of the first people to gather there. They kept reviewing the launch and the initial explosion. I forget what major network was being shown, but it was being fed by Northern Virginia Public TV.

Within a half an hour there were about a half a dozen TV crews doing stand ups and interviewing visitors, There was a trio of young Air Force pilots who were visiting that day and they were lined up for interviews by the TV crews.

I forget the reporter's name from CNN, but he looked and sounded like Ted Knight from the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Anyway he was interviewing the pilots and he asked them if the Astronauts were aware of the potential of an explosion.

They immediately answered with a completely composed and professional reply about the inherent risks in all flight and the safety record of NASA in particular.

The rest of us could barely hold our breath from calling the announcer an idiot. I walked around the building for an hour or so looking for the klieg lights and listening in on the interviews; then I returned to the kiosk where a large crowd had gathered.

Everyone wore their emotions out front that morning there was no holding back the tears and the collective grief. It was a true sampling of the American spirit that sad day not so long ago.

[O.P.]

Challenger: I was between enlistments waiting to go back to NAVETS in San Diego. I was at my Mom's house sleeping one off. She banged on the door and said get the h3ll up! She never talks that way. I thought she was mad at me for spending a month at home just getting drunk. She said the shuttle blew up...

9/11: I was sleeping. I had the radio on. It was really early. The radio got really loud and I woke up to hear that a plane crashed into the world trade center. I woke up my girlfriend and we went into the living room just in time to see the second plane hit the other building.