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The Challenger exploded 74 seconds into the flight.



I was working second shift at Hughes Aircraft Company in Buena Park, Cal, when I heard the news.

Anyone else remember where they were when they heard about it?

In Huntington Beach, preparing for our move to Memphis. Greg was almost 2, I was pregnant with Pat, Jeff was at Kodak Wilshire office. Remember watching the tv in our condo.

Vandal wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:01 pm

The Challenger exploded 74 seconds into the flight.



I was working second shift at Hughes Aircraft Company in Buena Park, Cal, when I heard the news.

Anyone else remember where they were when they heard about it?

Yes. I was working for Army Recruiting and had gone out to grab some lunch. I had the radio on and heard the news. I went back to the office and the recruiters were gathered around a TV set.

I woke up, and my radio station wasn't playing music. People were talking instead. I wake up groggy, so my first thought was that it wasn't a very funny joke. Then I woke up further and realized that no one was joking. --Bob

Vandal wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:01 pm

The Challenger exploded 74 seconds into the flight.



I was working second shift at Hughes Aircraft Company in Buena Park, Cal, when I heard the news.

Anyone else remember where they were when they heard about it?

I was in my office in Caracas, Venezuela. A bunch had returned from lunch and were saying to me, "Lo siento." Of course, I had to ask what for as the news hadn't made it into the office. The TV news showed the explosion over and over the next few days.

I was at college in Grove City, PA and had just come from a history class to the computer center where the mainframe was located. My friend Mike stopped me as I came in and he told me there had been an explosion on the shuttle. Not fully comprehending, I asked him if anyone was hurt. The computer lab director had set up the news to play through the monitors and I sat down and watched and the first time I saw the explosion, it felt like a punch in the gut. I kept a transistor radio with me the rest of the day. Stupid flight directors wouldn't listen to the engineers who had warned them exactly what would happen because of the cold that day.

Driving from work to town center to pick up something for lunch. When I heard it, I screamed "NOOOOO!" into the silence of my car.

I was teaching at a high school, but just substituting, as I had only had my license for about a year, and there was actually competition for teaching jobs back then. We watched the launch in the classroom, because Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from Indiana, was the first civilian to fly into space. Or at least, she was supposed to be.

We don't generally watch live news events in class any more.

I normally didn't work on the sports copy desk on Monday nights, so I was up earlier than usual that day.

Made coffee, turned on TV. It was already on CNN, which was odd because I usually watched music videos before I went to bed.

Riveted to TV. Talked to a friend who worked Monday night and woke up later. She asked me what was going on.

I don't remember much about the rest of the day. I know I wasn't working that night and talked to TLAF, who sobbed through our conversations that whole day.

What's weird is I remember watching it on a mounted like up high tv, that we had in our old house in Houston. It was an anniversary.

I had just completed my morning show shift at the radio station when the alarm on the teletype machine in the newsroom, which only went off when a MAJOR news bulletin is coming across, went off. We learned of it that way, then turned on the tv in the outer office to watch the coverage.

I was in college at NDSU. That was my generation's version of the JFK Assassination.

I was at work but didn't cry until I got home and saw the tape on the news.

A couple weeks later, the Toastmasters Table Topics was headlines. I tried to get through it, but when I got to Christa McAuliffe's name, I crumbled and sat down.

I was at home watching live while I was ironing clothes! (I haven't ironed anything since we moved in this house which is over 3 years ago.) It was frightening to watch and see the horror on the face of their relatives watching from the stands. So very sad.


kay

Now thirty six years. Damn.

On the couch watching CNN because I faked being sick so I could stay home and watch the launch.