Subdeacon Joe Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 STS-51-L RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I remember watching that back then with tears in my eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I had to pull off the road for a while that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 I was listening to it on the radio at work Was sick to my stomach the rest of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Watched it live on AFRTS in the VQ-2 barracks lounge when I was stationed at NAS Rota. On that particular launch NAS Rota was one of the Transoceanic Abort Landing sites (didn't happen very often due to prevailing winds) and we had extra activity on the base that day including a TV Crew set up at the air terminal. Sad day for America. However President Regan showed America what leadership was and saved our shuttle program from being scrapped that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I went home early for lunch from work to watch the launch. I worked at Hughes Aircraft at the time. I made my boss a deal. I wanted to tape it. I got home right at liftoff. Didn’t bother with the tape. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge walked into the living room. Setting the sofa down I knocked it over. When I looked up at the TV a second later the shuttle engine blew up. I was numb. I kept waiting to see the shuttle pop out of that cloud. It didn’t. I guess I figured it could glide back down to safety. It was a very sad day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 My wife was teaching third grade and because of the school connection, all of the elementary kids were grouped in the gym to watch the launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 One of my heroes, physicist Richard Feynman, helped figure out why it happened. It didn’t have to happen. http://www.feynman.com/science/the-challenger-disaster/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Dan Troop 70448 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I was in K Mart with wife shopping. I stopped by the Television section along with several others to watch the launch. You could tell something was wrong, and heard several people making sounds that they also knew. The newscaster were also stunned and silent for a while. They replayed the take-off. I went looking for the wife to tell her the bad news, stilled stunned by what I saw, when an announcement was made over the inter-com on the disaster. When I found the wife and we went to the TV section, it was packed with people, and workers. Many had tears in their eyes. MT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I was home sick that day from my job with the outfit that designed the booster parachute recovery system. I was listening to the launch on a telephone link, as initially there was no T.V. coverage. When the NASA announcer stated there was a major anomaly, and then confirm that the booster had exploded, I immediately called in to tell my section, as they didn't have any coverage. later, T.V. stations broadcast the sequence of events. When I went back to work the next day, I immediately looked up the previous booster post-flight reports, looking at the downstage sections (we were not part of anything below the main deck fittings that held the parachute risers to the forward deck of the boosters. The previous April and the August before that, post-flight examination showed soot leakage around the primary O-rings for 120 degrees (one-third of the circumference), but not penetrating to the exterior of the field joints! After the disaster, the segment field joints were completely redesigned. If you want more details, read "Truth, Lies and O-rings" by Allan J. McDonald. In spite of recommending that Challenger NOT be launched, he was told, "Stop thinking like and engineer, and start thinking like a manager!" Certain people in the government agency should have gone to jail, instead of later retiring with a "golden parachute" (pension)! Sorry Allie, if that is too political! Some lack of proper decisions to check out the result of ice impact on Columbia, resulted in the loss of that crew! | | RIP, Challenger and Columbia. | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 On 1/28/2018 at 8:01 PM, Subdeacon Joe said: I was listening to it on the radio at work Was sick to my stomach the rest of the day. That is how I felt on 9/11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 10 minutes ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said: That is how I felt on 9/11. I was too stunned that day to feel sick. Also wondering when the other shoe would drop. I kept expecting to hear that Chicago and San Francisco had been hit. Plus, when I heard that Pres. Bush was heading for Air Force One I thought, "OHCARP!!! They've flushed him like a pheasant and are gonna try to shoot him down." A very bad day, that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 I felt sad about the Challenger disaster; but, felt more strongly about 9/11 as it seemed that our entire country was under attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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