Where were you 17 years ago today? (Challenger Explosion)

History ^ | 01/27/03 | Memories

[Cloud William]

I was working at my part-time job in a department store electronics department. I was all alone that morning and the store was empty of customers. We had a big wall of televisions on display, all tuned to different channels, all with the audio muted. I locked the cash register and left the department to sign-in some new equipment in the warehouse. When I had walked away, all the channels were showing different programs. When I walked back, all the televisions had the same picture. Within ten minutes, all of the store's employees were in that one area, watching the screens in silence.

[Txslady]

I watched as it happened... could NOT believe what I was seeing! I was watching it with my brother and turned to him and we both just looked at each other stunned. It was an awful sight to see... so very sad too.

[Alberta's Child]

The eeriest thing was that the announcer kept reading off altitude and distance figures for a few seconds afterward. The burst of static you hear is actually the ground communication system attempting to re-establish contact with the shuttle, but getting no response.

When the announcer says something like, "Obviously a malfunction of some sort," you realize that this was beyond anything they were prepared to deal with.

[Alberta's Child]

Jake Garn (from Utah, I believe) was the senator who flew on a shuttle mission.

Interestingly, his personal reports after the flight were rather pessimistic about the long-term potential of space travel -- it was clear to him that the human body was not built to spend much time in space.

[Zebra]

Do you remember the newscaster who speculated that they may have survived the explosion and been conscious when the cabin entered the sea? I cannot imagine how that would be possible based on the rate of descent , the laws of physics and the cabin design. But there was a credible scientific source that explained at the time how the cabin broke away intact and possibly provided cushion upon impact sufficient to sustain life. I was and remain skeptical of this claim. I do not remember the autopsy or post-mortem on this issue and the precise cause of death. Do you?

[2Smart2BLiberal]

I'll never forget it. I was teaching junior high language arts and another teacher rushed into the room and told me to turn the TV on to CNN. I did and we all watched in disbelief. One student said to me, "Miss Wise, are the people still alive?" and I said, "I don't know, I don't know." I remember all the footage was raw and it was unreal watching the family members of the crew reacting to what they were seeing in the sky. Very, very sad.

[Fiddlstix]

I was in a coffee shop with my business partners looking through the WSJ and discussing possible future investments. The waitress said, "my lord, I think it exploded" and turned up the tv volume. We just sat there watching in disbelief. It was a sad day.

[WFTR]

OKC Bombing: I had moved from Oklahoma City to Louisville, Kentucky just a month before the bombing. I didn't know the folks in my new job well, and I wasn't sure about them. One of the chemists came to my office and asked whether I was from Oklahoma City. I told him that I had just moved from there but was from Tennessee and asked why. He said that someone had just set off a bomb in Oklahoma City.

I wasn't sure whether he was serious or whether this was some kind of strange initiation thing for the new guy. Some people always like to say things to shock a new employee just to see how they respond. He didn't sound super serious about the whole thing, so I just assumed some broken windows and damaged walls. Still, I was curious, so I called a friend back in Oklahoma City.

I said that I'd heard a rumor that a bomb had gone off in the city and asked whether he'd heard anything about it. As it turns out, he had been in a building just two blocks from the federal building. He had driven away from downtown as the fire trucks came in.

I didn't own a TV at the time, and I remember going to Hooters that night for dinner because it was the only place I could think of in a new city where I could eat dinner and watch TV. Most people wanted to watch sports and the usual stuff that they watch at Hooters. Some of the waitresses weren't happy about having the news on one of their TVs, but they let me watch.

September 11: I was at work at a technical center in west Houston. Our secretary sent an e-mail with a link to the story about "that horrible crash in New York." She assumed that everyone had heard at that time. I went to some conference rooms to watch and checked different websites. With my company's liberal "diversity" policy, I've never signed onto Free Republic from work, but I did that day. We all talked about the situation, and I was watching TV when the second plane hit.

Eventually, they sent people home mostly so that parents could deal with their kids. I thought about staying around because I don't have kids, but it was obvious that they also wanted people to leave so they could check the building just to be sure. I was on the emergency crew and lingered in my office a little longer in case I was needed as a member of the crew. Eventually, I decided that I should go home. Less than two minutes after I shut down my computer and turned off my plant radio, they made the call and sent an e-mail asking any remaining emergency crew members to help check out the buildings. I felt bad that I wasn't there to help the rest of the crew with that work.

WFTR
Bill

[auboy]

I was watching TV when it happened. I was at work with my dad, sister, two brothers, and wife. We were all stunned and speechless.

[BluH2o]

I was at work in White Plains, General Foods.

I wasn't that far away ... southbound on I-95 near Westport, CT when I heard about it on the car radio.

[RadioAstronomer]

In a mission control room monitoring the launch. :-(

[meema]

Thank you for your hotlink. That was just beautiful. You are a very tallented and gifted writer. We must always thank God for such Gifts!!! I still have tears in my eyes.
God bless you.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Seriously, Starman? Wow...

(I was setting up gear in a nightclub.)

[spokanite]

I was living in Jacksonville, FL at the time and always went outside to watch the shuttle launch. You could usually see the vapor trail from there. As I listened to launch from my office, I went outside to look for the vapor trail and what I saw was two trails going off in different directions and downward. Looked odd. Went back inside and informed my co-workers that something was wrong with the shuttle launch. We all tuned in to the news and listened for quite a while. All I kept saying was that poor teacher and her students watching the whole thing. Such a sad day.

Gosh, I remember it like it happened yesterday.

[semaj]

Working the counter of my mother's coffee shop.

[John Lenin]

I was sitting in a sales meeting when I was working for a company called, get this, Challenger Window Corporation. I remember that day well.

[RadioAstronomer]

Seriously. I would never embellish about something like this. Was not a good day for me. :-(

[Per-Ling]

I was a sophomore at Satellite Beach High School, about 30 min south of the cape. Saw it going up from the second story window in my algebra class. teacher let us go on the balcony to watch. we had all seen numerous launches so when it split in two, there was no reason to remark. we all just went back inside and sat in silence...

[RadioAstronomer]

Between Complex 40 and 41 riding herd on video and computer controls for a launch tracking camera.

Damn. What a horrible day :-(

[Gracey]

You're correct. Thanks. He was a fighter pilot, earlier in his lifetime, I believe.