[spankalib]

In just a few days, it will be the 23rd anniversary of the Columbia disaster.

I was in Fort Worth, posting on FR when it happened, (on a 'Columbia Return Watch' thread or somesuch) and remarked that I had just heard a sonic boom.

A FReeper pointed out that I would not have heard a sonic boom - too high an altitude - and I ran outside, looked up, and saw the exploded pieces of the shuttle scattering across the sky.

Yeah, I had actually heard the explosion.

As it was a real-time recounting of events, The NYT printed many FReeper's remarks, including mine...(another FReeper told me I was 'famous').

It was a terrible sight.

[Texas resident]

When Columbia blew up, I was at a Lowes’ in Conroe Tx. I heard the boom and saw sparkling debris moving across the sky.
The next week, I went to see some customers in Lufkin and Nacogdoches. I have never seen so many black Tahoe’s and Crown Vic’s in one place before. They were all over the place there in East Texas.

[telescope115]

I had just finished making breakfast for my dad and was driving home. I turned on the radio to WGN in Chicago. Spike O’dell was talking with someone about waiting for communication from Columbia to resume after reentry, and as time went by he was sounding more worried. After a few minutes there were reports of objects in the sky over Texas, along Columbia’s path for reentry. It became slowly obvious that Columbia and it’s crew weren’t coming home.

I was shocked that this was happening again. Hadn’t we learned anything from Challenger?