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

History ^ | 01/27/03 | Memories

[Luis Gonzalez]

I was there.

[Slide]

I was in Fort Hood Texas, in the field for a month sitting in the "Gunners" station of an M-1 tank...

[Vermont Lt]

Sitting in Concord NH, working for the cable company that provided the cable hookup to Christa's school. Not a fun day.

[LisaFab]

From President Reagan, January 28, 1886:

"... 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 the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"

God Bless the Challenger crew and Ronaldl Wilson Reagan.

[RightWhale]

Yes, it was too cold that day. But, it was just a matter of time. It happened sooner than the odds would have it, but it is bound to happen now and then. It will happen again, maybe not the same way. It is inherently a dangerous thing to do, riding rockets into space. If they had wanted to launch another Space Shuttle the next day, there would have been no shortage of volunteers, even with the obvious risk.

[Spruce]

I was working second shift, so I was home on "baby-duty" caring for my daughter (who was born on 9/11/85). I always watched all the shuttle launches. It is still a very vivid memory.

[Hildy]

I was working at SHOWTIME/THE MOVIE CHANNEL in New York City. I was sitting in my cubicle when Jay Hermann, the guy who had the cubicle diagonal from me stood up and announced what had just happened. Because we worked in the creative services department, there were TV's all over the place. We all just stood and watched with disbelief. One of those moments I'll never forget.

[GaryUSBonds]



[Revelation 911]

driving a truck, making deliveries, cresting a hill

I was shocked - as it turns out, my grade school music teacher was competing with Christa for the spot and had been a final contender.

god rest thier souls

[SamAdams76]

I was in Waltham, Massachusetts where I was going through training at AB Dick for some kind of printer that I ended up never working on (because my company didn't sell any). We broke for lunch and I went to a sub shop on Trapelo Road. On the way there, the DJ interrupted the song on the radio ("Russians" by Sting) to deliver the news. When I got to the sub shop, they had a small black and white TV on the counter and everybody was watching it. I thought the TV would never stop showing it (similar to the feeling I had when they kept showing the Twin Towers getting hit over and over again).

I remember that it was a bitterly cold day and not a cloud in the sky.

[Deport Billary]

1st grade, in class watching it happen

[Radioactive]

I was at the Kennedy Space Center. We were there the day before and they had technical problems... a door would not close correctly and they had pulled out a Makita drill and was working on the problem. They could not fix it in time and scrubbed the launch.

The next morning we were back and could not believe that they were going to launch due to the cold. I remember saying to people in the crowd that they would not launch in the cold but when they announced the decision to launch, everbody cheered.

We watched as the countdown was started and the launch took place. But as we all now know things went horribly wrong.

The crowd at first did not know what was happening and cheered as the shuttle blew up. It looked like it was supposed to happen that way at first but I remember myself saying rather loud...."NOOOOOO! NOOOOOO! That is not supposed to happen." The crowd was then silent

We were then informed by lauch control over the intercom system at the vistors center that there seems to be a problem. I'll never forget the dazed looks that followed.

It's been 17 years and I never went back until just last week when the shuttle launched with the Israeli astronaut aboard. It was Incredable.

[GaryUSBonds]

On the Chicago Board of Trade Financial trading floor watching on a big 30ft screen, with 2500 other people. Trading slowed to a crawl as we watched the takeoff, then a huge collective "oohhhhhhhh" as it exploded..trading pretty much stopped(though I think stocks broke down). I , like many who witnessed, felt like a loved one was lost. Trading was very subdued the rest of the day.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

It's hard to believe it has been that long ago, isn't it? My second pregnancy was during the Gulf War.....what is it with my pregnancies and January?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

One more year and we have to let them go......... ;^(

[groanup]

Sitting on the regional trading desk for a major New York Dealer. Heard it on the shout down. The guy in Miami said: "yeah, they're all gone".

[surrey]

Sitting on the floor in my bedroom talking to a friend, who was working with me on a project, to get a new playground in our town up and running. Hung up and my beloved,late Dad, who always dreamed of being in the space program, (he was an aeronautical engineer)called. He was speechless.

[vikzilla]

I was at Hqs. SAC as a Intel. Analyst. Very long faces indeed.

[Alouette]

I was in my last year of college. I had just gotten out of class for the morning and I was in my car driving home from the campus and heard the "major malfunction" over the radio.

[ContraryMary]

I watched it on TV as it happened.