I remember it all too well.
Horrible day. Horrible event.
I got the chance to meet Dr. Ronald McNair, South Carolina’s own astronaut. He visited my high school in SC shortly before going into training for the mission. I remember him being very humble and gracious towards us teenagers. We were in our science class watching the launch to cheer him on. As soon as the explosion happened, even our male science teacher started crying.
I stayed outside and was listening to a tape in the car and when my dad came back out he said, "Hey, did you hear the space shuttle blew up?" My dad was always a practical joker and seeing what kind of tall tales he could sell so I dismissed it. I dropped dad off at home, picked up my friend and we went to the lake. We slapped the puck around for about five minutes when we both agreed that it was just too damn cold. Our spit was quite literally freezing before it hit the ground. We decided that outdoor hockey was a bridge too far on this day. We got back in the car to warm up, turned the radio on and heard the news.
I was born after the Kennedy assassination, and always heard people talking about remembering where they were when they heard the news.
Up to that date, I always wondered what kind of event would leave that kind of impression. After that date, I knew.
I remember seeing this take place in front of a “wall of televisions” on display in a department store - all tuned to the same broadcast. A group of people had gathered to watch, and we all stood there in stunned silence for at least half an hour.
The Season 3 premiere of the Netflix series “GLOW” starts on that day as the characters are watching the shuttle launch.
I worked in a support center for a software product that was used by both NASA and Morton Thiokol (manufacturers of the solid rockets that blew up) at the time. I recall the “all hands meeting” so we could talk over how to handle the situation. One of my least fun days working there.
Only eclipsed when I was working for a different company who occupied 8 floors of the South Tower of the WTC in September, 2001.
I was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.
Many people on the base had family working with NASA or support contractors in Huston. And all the people on the meteorological side of the base provided critical forecasting and the instructors on the electronics school often had connections as well.
Pretty much the whole base paused and was watching the launch.
I had just arrived at Ft Polk, LA. Was standing in the dayroom with the head shed watching the launch.
When it exploded all of us just kinda looked at each other at first trying to understand what we all just saw.
Will never forget it.
Boy, do I remember that day. I had resigned a job and was in the process of cleaning out my desk, and while radios were banned in the office I had a little transistor AM radio, and having nothing to lose I turned it on. Soon most of the department including our boss was gathered around listening to the news reports. Pre-internet days of course...
I was in the wardroom of a USN destroyer and someone said turn on the TV.
Damn. I remember the launches starting to get less and less press.
On my way to the dentist at LAFB in AZ.
News came over the radio.
Ping.
Cocaine Mitch would do well to begin today’s session with a moment of silence.
I remember where I was when this happened.
Both of them came at a time when NASA was more concerned about the "diversity" of their crews than the safety of the missions they were undertaking.
I was a field tech with NYTel in Southern Manhattan back then and would usually join my foreman somewhere to watch the shuttle launches. That morning I had a customer that needed my attention and had to beg off our meet-up. Spent the whole day without contact with the world and after I was done took the subway home. I had a book to read so I didn’t bother getting a newspaper.
When I arrived at my apartment, I turned on the TV and was surprised to see the shuttle lifting off. “There must have been a delay”, I thought and figured I was lucky to have turned on the TV when I did. I sat down and watched and saw the explosion and the smoking debris arcing in the sky. At first I thought it was the boosters separating ....but then it sank in. I also started to realize that there was no commentary, no audio coming over the TV. After a time an announcer came on and bit by bit I learned what had happened that morning. Not sure how long I sat there, just stunned.
43 years ago today, we had the Blizzard of ‘77 in Buffalo, NY.
My car was buried under 31 feet of snow for 3 weeks.