Saw this earlier but decided not to post it since I was close to the event. Still painful after all these years. Same with Columbia. Too close.
I was in college at University of Florida when the first Space Shuttle launch happened. The first attempt was on a week end and I drove down from Gainesville to watch, but the launch was scrubbed. I skipped school and watched the successful launch from the side of US 1 near Titusville, FL.
In my work in the aerospace industry I got to know people that worked on the Space Shuttle program and got to see two night launches from the VIP area.
I’ve seen your posts and have no doubt you were close to it all.
We lived in the area at the time, and my mother would let me stay home sometimes for launches. That day was one of them. She was a die-hard space cadet from the Mercury days. The 8x10 autographed photos from Merc & Apollo are still some of her prized posessions.
I watched the liftoff on the living room TV while she was in the backyard. Once it cleared the pad i went outside with her. We watched it happen; and i watched it devastate us both. I’ll never forget that.
I think i know what you mean in your post. It’s like if you witnessed 9/11 unsanitized and live. You don’t need to see it again...you just close your eyes and there it is.
Semper Fortis
~W
Even though the presentation is low key the violence of the event is still hard to handle.