Thread: 25th Anniversary of Challenger Disaster

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."- Ronald Reagan

Francis R. "Dick" Scobee (USAF)
Michael J. Smith (USN)
Ellison S. Onizuka (USAF)
Judith A. Resnik
Ronald E. McNair
Gregory B. Jarvis
S. Christa McAuliffe

I was in 8th Grade. I will never forget coming back from our lunch break, and just as we had settled in our seats, our teacher came in with tears running down his face. It's one of those moments you never forget....

Later that evening, President Reagan delivered one of the best speeches of his career...and consoled a heartbroken nation.

To young to remember, but my mom remembers it, and when the shuttle broke up over Texas she said it brought back the same feeling as with the challenger.

I was a huge enthusiast of the space program growing up. I remember watching all the launches, especially early in the shuttle program. I too saw the Challenger's final journey and remember feeling horrified and profoundly sad. You can say what you want about Reagan's politics, but he was as skilled an orator as there ever was.

I remember it too, my grandparents were down in Florida on vacation and she was taking pictures from several dozen miles away.

I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger, but glasses and colorblindness destroyed any chances of that.

Originally Posted by Alundil

Watched it happen in school. Very sad. And still remember Reagan's address to this day on it. The shuttle break up in Texas brought it all back for me as well. Walked outside that morning and could see the vapor/smoke/debris trail overhead. Sad days.

Watching Reagan's address again this morning brought it all back. I still get chills. He seemed to know exactly what to say, and you could tell that he was just as upset as the rest of us were.

For those who were too young to remember, the Shuttle launches were kind of a big deal. We watched almost every one in school. This one was even bigger. Christa McCauliffe was going to be the first teacher in space, and was going to do some special lessons while she was up there. We had a board in our classroom, and we were going to not only follow the lessons she was going to give, but were going to track her progress during the mission.

When the disaster happened.....the whole nation was in shock. Not only was it a huge disaster, but millions of kids had tuned in to watch in classrooms all over the country. Meanwhile, our teachers were cheering on one of their own, but ended up having to not only deal with it themselves, but make some sort of sense, and comfort all of their kids who were watching it together. Later in the day, you could hear groups of them crying in the teacher's lounge. Rough day.