Challenger

[twostepn2001]

40 years ago today at 11:39 am the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida. l happened to be home that day and was recording the Challenger on my brand new VCR. lt was quite a shock to see it on live TV. 

[Chester5732]

😔. Good grief I’m old. I remember that like it was yesterday. 

[Big Bud guy]

I was young but we didn't have a TV at the time.  Just can remember dad hearing it on the radio. Contary to belief the Challenger didn't explode.  It broke apart.  Also if I recall correctly there was at least one prior mission were after retrieving the boosters the engineers discovered the O-rings almost burned through which would have destroyed the orbiter.  Known flawed design and yet NASA laughed it off basically.  

[766 Man]

  I was at Cornell and the professor of my afternoon class was quite distraught about it.  Cancelled class that afternoon.  

[Kevin in ky]

I was at clifty elementary school we were watching it on tv live and I suppose the whole school was sad to see and I don’t think at my age we didn’t realize how tragic it was.

[mmi]

1 hour ago, Big Bud guy said:

 Known flawed design and yet NASA laughed it off basically.  

Recorded/watched it ,IDK where that tape would be now...?

Too much black/politics in the MIC,when you are invoicing 4K- $5 hammers (on a job that requires 0-2)at $20K ea .

Just like German and Fort knox gold they mysteriously showed up by the "just made" pallet for the oversight "committee "

There  is $0 R & D budget and cant rock the boat of all the nefarious diversions of the $ billions.

Safety "delay" would raise eyebrows ,then stop the conveyor of $$$$$ off "job"

BUT !!!! a crisis would break the dam. With 0 bean counters.

 We were there in '78 ,otherwise interesting place to tour on the "public' side of things.

[cumminstinkerer]

I remember that day well, I was in first grade and we saw it on TV, Mrs Bone (may she rest in peace), was terribly shook up, we being young dumb kids didn't really understand it at all! Those o-rings that failed were made and or installed about 60 miles from me, little town of Creston Iowa, I think back then the business was morton thiocall, I'm sure I spelled that wrong, it is now called Wellman Dynamics. They, being Morton knew they was a potential issue and NASA was told not to proceed but the higher powers choose to anyway, that was a terrible call on those peoples part and I hope they live the regret of causing those deaths everyday, sorry that may seem evil but come on folks! I've actually seen several documentaries on that disaster and it is rather clear that the fuselage survived the initial explosion, the consensus of all the stuff I've seen and read is that the crew was at least capable of being of still being alive until impact with the water, now most who have studied the matter agree that they would have literally died from the shear terror prior to that impact, there is no way of ever proving that since the final resting place of the fuselage is considered to be just like a ship wreck and is those poor souls graves so it cannot be disturbed, as well it shouldn't be!

[acem]

I was in college, freshman I think.

A friend who was always pulling pranks told me the space shuttle blew up. I told he he was full of it and he should stop with all the pranks. Got home that evening after working in the lab and found it was true.

Later that semester he pushed some guys too far and they mummified him in duck tape, against his will. Held him and taped him. Left his face open so he could breathe...

 

[Farmall1066]

I was a few weeks from 5 years old, and I remember that image well!! 

[SDman]

Was a freshman in science class. We were not watching it live, but a teacher came out of the teacher's lounge that was. He peaked into our room with a face that was ghost-white, and said that there had an accident with the space shuttle. We then watched the news broadcast after that.

The last week of January and first week of February have been when Nasa's worst accidents have happened...the Challenger accident, the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, and the Columbia accident in 2003.

[DaveinSD]

I remember hearing the report of what happened on the radio while in the Hallmark store with my mom, I was too young to be in school. Of course I didn’t really understand what happened just that it was a big deal, and remember exactly where I was to this day.

[Binderdan]

I was about 2.5 years old. I remember seeing it on TV but not really understanding what was happening. I asked my mom why all the people on TV were crying. She took my toy space shuttle and tried to explain it. 

Baby Jessica that fell down the well a year later I remember much more clearly. Mom was so upset about it. 

[New Englander]

It's called Normalization of Deviation. We all do it. We get away with something so often that it just becomes normal to us. 

I started to write some examples but deleted my thoughts. We all know it when we see it. It's up to us to stop it.

[iowaboy1965]

I remember.  Some time later a dj at a popular radio station in Desmoines somehow got ahold of the transcript of the last couple minutes of the radio transmission from the shuttle and read it on the air.  It was chilling. Never heard any more about it. Don't know if the guy got in trouble or not or where he supposedly got ahold of it. 

As I recall it was very cold that morning in Florida.  There was a know concern about the seals at those temps and for whatever reason they went ahead anyway.

[forwhldrv]

I remember watching it live in the small cafeteria of the elementary school I was in sixth grade at the time. It was a pretty big deal they were sending a teacher up in space and she was going to give a lesson from space. I think the teachers at school were more excited about it than the kids. The teacher was from New Hampshire the state next door so it home a bit more. I remember one of my teachers saying he applied to be one of the teachers to get a chance to do it  and then said I guess I’m glad I didn’t go. It wasn’t long after that the kids had the joke of what does NASA stand for (Need Another Seven Astronauts). Now I look back and see how terrible of event it was no matter whose fault it was. I can only imagine what would happen if this was to happen today live in schools how much therapy and counseling the kids would need and how bad the media would twist it to fit their narrative. 

[1586 Jeff]

I still remember what desk in what classroom I was sitting in.  The teacher, Mrs Lamay, had to leave the classroom to go watch the launch somewhere else where there was a television.

When she came back she was terribly shaken and stammering tremendously.  She too had signed up to go on that launch, but had not gotten selected.

 

That incident left quite a memory on me, making me appreciate quality over quantity, especially when there is human life involved.

[Lazy WP]

I was loading wheat at Kalcevics. Was about to pull out of the yard when Johnny stopped me. 

[hardtail]

There was a guy that went by Flathead Sarge on Shovelhead forum years ago that was an old greybeard biker that I don't recall posting anything religious previously, @Jesse S was on there under the handle Dragstews, don't know if he saw Sarges post about the Challenger

He claimed to be driving and was contacted by God, said he provided all the details of the accident and told him he was part of a few to go forth and notify people that they were placed on earth by him and stop trying to leave the planet they were placed on, details now on his exact words are fuzzy but it was a very unusual post from him and he was dead serious.

[cumminstinkerer]

3 hours ago, iowaboy1965 said:

I remember.  Some time later a dj at a popular radio station in Desmoines somehow got ahold of the transcript of the last couple minutes of the radio transmission from the shuttle and read it on the air.  It was chilling. Never heard any more about it. Don't know if the guy got in trouble or not or where he supposedly got ahold of it. 

As I recall it was very cold that morning in Florida.  There was a know concern about the seals at those temps and for whatever reason they went ahead anyway.

Who was DJ, kinda thinking it was Maxwell but not real sure, I heard the transcript on a documentary about it a few months ago, it is very chilling

[Rawleigh99]

I was walking into contracts class and law school that day. They canceled classes for the rest of the day and we all went home and sat in front of the tv.  It was very stunning. I never thought it would happen. 

 

[acem]

As I understand it

3 men have died in space. All Soviet Cosmonauts in a single accident.

16 have died going to space.

11 have died in training (including the crew of Apollo 1.

Peter Siebold survived a fall from near space when his craft broke up. He fell 50,000 ft to earth in his space suit.  

 

 

[nepoweshiekfarmalls]

I remember that day well.  It was raining and my grandparents picked me up from school.  It was all that WHO radio was talking about as we rode home in grandpa's 79 Impala. Later, I saw the images on the TV.

Sad reality is that NASA did not learn from this tragedy. The failing heat shield tiles on Discovery were ignored until it broke up.

[Big Bud guy]

1 hour ago, acem said:

As I understand it

3 men have died in space. All Soviet Cosmonauts in a single accident.

16 have died going to space.

11 have died in training (including the crew of Apollo 1.

Peter Siebold survived a fall from near space when his craft broke up. He fell 50,000 ft to earth in his space suit.  

 

 

You are missing one.  Look up Soyuz 1

[Big Bud guy]

8 minutes ago, nepoweshiekfarmalls said:

I remember that day well.  It was raining and my grandparents picked me up from school.  It was all that WHO radio was talking about as we rode home in grandpa's 79 Impala. Later, I saw the images on the TV.

Sad reality is that NASA did not learn from this tragedy. The failing heat shield tiles on Discovery were ignored until it broke up.

It was Columbia that broke up but yes just like the O-rings there was previous missions were there was significant damage after reentry due to failing heat tiles that NASA ignored.  

[nepoweshiekfarmalls]

1 minute ago, Big Bud guy said:

It was Columbia that broke up but yes just like the O-rings there was previous missions were there was significant damage after reentry due to failing heat tiles that NASA ignored.  

Thanks!