I watched it from the causeway five miles across the lagoon. My aunt worked for a NASA contractor and got me a launch pass. Devastating! I was snapping pictures with my girlfriend's camera and pulled off the shuttle to get a pic of the steam cloud on the ground at the moment the shuttle exploded. It took everybody there a few moments to realize what had happened.
We had driven out there once or twice before at 0 dark thirty and the launch was scrubbed each time. We had one last chance to see a launch before we had to start back to CO. Boy did we get more than we bargained for. After they finally let traffic leave the cape we went to Disney World to use our last day on a three-day ticket. We just wandered around like zombies most of that day. How do you have fun after watching something like that?
I know they were frustrated with the delays but they should have scrubbed that launch too.
Bump for the 29th anniversary of our watching Challenger live on the ground. Today always makes me sad.