Posted on 01/18/2016 6:17:27 PM PST by truthfinder9
Does Jim Robinson know ?
I was riding my motorscooter down South Pattaya Beach rd when I saw a tv in an open beer bar showing what had happened . I could not believe my eyes . I stood there and cried.
One of the coolest t-shirts I never got came out when they were still deciding the fate of the shuttle program after Challenger.
It was a white shirt with an outline of the shuttle and the words “I’ll go.”
Article is wrong. Local schools were not off that day. I was teaching, elementary school, in Merritt Island, Fl. Us teachers marched the children out to the playground so they could see liftoff. Was so cold, us teachers huddled at corner of building and lit cigs to keep warm. After liftoff, we knew something was wrong seeing the plumes. One teacher had portable radio and told us what they said. We quickly got children off playground and into cafeteria where TVs were on. Knowing that shuttle had exploded one student said to me, “But the teacher is going to alright, isn’t she.” One of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.
Yes. Here is Reagan's address to the nation, broadcast live on January 28, 1986:
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans.
Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us. We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
By the time a person gets to be our age+, there are just too many heartbreaks to remember. I’m just a wee bit younger than you, but I remember Kennedy too, and everything since. It all set up unexpected grief.
Some memories just stick to you in detail, and nothing washes it off.
I was in a boiler room working on the equipment, had a radio on when I heard about it.
I was when Columbia went down, which is what I was referring to.
The men of Apollo 1 perished the day before my 12th b'day.
Columbia fell from the sky less than 1 week after my 48th.
I watched all of the Mercury liftoffs on TV.
Carl Sagan was a big critic of the SST. Thought it was too expensive for whatever its missions were to be. He favored robotic missions like the ones to Mars. I recall other knowledgeable folks saying the SST was a vehicle in search of a mission.
Now, under BHO, were are reduced to hitching rides with Ivan and paying exorbitant fees to get to the ISS.
I was in my room on Osan AFB listening to the radio as I got ready for work.
It was during that tour that the chow hall erupted in cheers when we sent planes in to spank Khadafy (was at San Vito Italy when we all groaned over Carter's failed fiasco to rescue the Hostages)...
History, like life, is what happens while preparing for the future - here's to the glimmer of hope that we have a future different from the path we seem to be walking.
At least in 1972-1977 we had a system capable of putting an American Astronaut into orbit. Now? We need to RELY on Russian goodwill for Pete’s sakes!
I remember around the summer of ‘85 watching Christa McAuliffe with Ronald Reagan together at the announcement briefing. A bad feeling came over me at that moment that this was not going to end well. The time of the explosion, we had just broke for lunch and I saw the first replay of the event.
I was in a recreation tent in Germany during REFORGER. Watched it on a bank of TVs.
Obama would have had a tee time.
Was stationed in West Berlin. AFN was showing the Today Show (shown in the afternoon there) when the Today Show cut away to the Challenger explosion. Powerful and moving video.
Thank you. Still very moving.
My apologies. :)
I just left work to go get some lunch, and heard about it on the car radio.
Nobody did any work that afternoon. We were all just numb.
Very good point about the weaknesses of the Shuttle. Thank you.
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