“It’s a good thing that of the potential million + witnesses, none shined a green laser at the launch vehicle. That would have gotten them in series trouble. “
I recall this rumor flying around talk radio back when Challenger exploded in ‘86. I was 12 back then ... and, yes, I actually listened to talk radio back then (KDKA here in Pittsburgh). I vividly recall a person calling up, with a horribly fake accent, and saying that he saw a laser hit the Space Shuttle before the explosion. They were trying to pin it on Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative. What was worse were more people called in with the same story.
The gist is that if a person would have shined a green laser at the launch vehicle, they would have been quickly hunted down and arrested.