Liberal Forum

Folks on that fateful day I walked into a Sears in South Philly right at the TV section.  They was a crowd of people standing around not saying anything...like stunned.  I thought to myself "I wonder what is up with them' and looked at a TV.  I saw the Challenger taking off and I said again "WOW...this is cool."  In a matter of many long seconds...I understood all the grim looks.  I wish someone had warned me !
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At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger.
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Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors. In the aftermath of the disaster, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger and to develop future corrective measures.
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The investigation determined that the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O-ring” seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. The elastic O-ring did not respond as expected because of the cold temperature at launch time, which began a chain of events that resulted in the massive loss. 
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I remember that.  I was at Ft Richardson assigned to the 120th AVN Company and replacing a muff heater on a Huey.  Had my transistor radio on KWHL, the local rock station when they broke the story.  One of the moments you remember where you were doing.

MackTheFinger » 28 Jan 2024, 12:20 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:20 pm

Folks on that fateful day I walked into a Sears in South Philly right at the TV section.  They was a crowd of people standing around not saying anything...like stunned.  I thought to myself "I wonder what is up with them' and looked at a TV.  I saw the Challenger taking off and I said again "WOW...this is cool."  In a matter of many long seconds...I understood all the grim looks.  I wish someone had warned me !
.
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At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger.
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Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors. In the aftermath of the disaster, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger and to develop future corrective measures.
.
The investigation determined that the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O-ring” seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. The elastic O-ring did not respond as expected because of the cold temperature at launch time, which began a chain of events that resulted in the massive loss. 
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I remember it like it was yesterday 38 years ago...
 

Huey » 28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm

I remember that.  I was at Ft Richardson assigned to the 120th AVN Company and replacing a muff heater on a Huey.  Had my transistor radio on KWHL, the local rock station when they broke the story.  One of the moments you remember where you were doing.

Yep, I was at work watching it in the lunchroom....quite shocking...
 

Huey » 28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm

I remember that.  I was at Ft Richardson assigned to the 120th AVN Company and replacing a muff heater on a Huey.  Had my transistor radio on KWHL, the local rock station when they broke the story.  One of the moments you remember where you were doing.

It was definitely one of those 'remember what you were doing moments.' I was a sophomore in high school. The principle announced it over the PA, his voice was cracking. He let the school out immediately after. 

On that day I was sick in college infirmary

ROG62 » 28 Jan 2024, 12:30 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:30 pm

I remember it like it was yesterday 38 years ago...

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Not me !
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I guess in my case hearing about it on the spot...might have been different for you.
 

Huey » 28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm

I remember that.  I was at Ft Richardson assigned to the 120th AVN Company and replacing a muff heater on a Huey.  Had my transistor radio on KWHL, the local rock station when they broke the story.  One of the moments you remember where you were doing.

I was replacing the battery in my car that morning before I left for work and in the middle of swapping it out I came inside to get something and saw it on the news. 

Funny how things stick with you like that.

I remember what I was doing when Reagan got shot and when the first tower fell too, and when the Oklahoma City bombing happened as well. 


 

I saw it live from a vantage point about 60 miles south of the launch site.

Huey » 28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm

I remember that.  I was at Ft Richardson assigned to the 120th AVN Company and replacing a muff heater on a Huey.  Had my transistor radio on KWHL, the local rock station when they broke the story.  One of the moments you remember where you were doing.

              I was stationed at Suwon Air Base Korea..... 
    I lived off-base with a buddy... The Challenger explosion happened in the middle of the night on our Time, so we learned about it the following morning... My room mate's girlfriend woke him up because it had been shown on the Korean News channel... No one could understand what happened, and it was several months afterwards before they figured what caused it..... A very sad day.. It must have been awful for the family members of the crew on the ground who saw it happen.. 

Huey » 28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:28 pm

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One of the moments you remember where you were doing.

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I remember when President Kennedy was shot and I was in grade school.
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MackTheFinger » 28 Jan 2024, 2:18 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 2:18 pm

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I remember when President Kennedy was shot and I was in grade school.
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That was two years before I was born.

RebelGator » 28 Jan 2024, 12:53 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:53 pm

I saw it live from a vantage point about 60 miles south of the launch site.

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WOW !
 

MackTheFinger » 28 Jan 2024, 12:39 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:39 pm

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Not me !
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I guess in my case hearing about it on the spot...might have been different for you.

saw it on the telly at work...
 

ROG62 » 29 Jan 2024, 1:29 am » wrote: ↑

29 Jan 2024, 1:29 am

saw it on the telly at work...

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I saw it the second time they showed it on TV...it had just happened, and I didn't know it.
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Did you see it live or after the news got out ?
 
 

MackTheFinger » 28 Jan 2024, 12:20 pm » wrote: ↑

28 Jan 2024, 12:20 pm

Folks on that fateful day I walked into a Sears in South Philly right at the TV section.  They was a crowd of people standing around not saying anything...like stunned.  I thought to myself "I wonder what is up with them' and looked at a TV.  I saw the Challenger taking off and I said again "WOW...this is cool."  In a matter of many long seconds...I understood all the grim looks.  I wish someone had warned me !
.
.
At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger.
.
Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors. In the aftermath of the disaster, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger and to develop future corrective measures.
.
The investigation determined that the disaster was caused by the failure of an “O-ring” seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. The elastic O-ring did not respond as expected because of the cold temperature at launch time, which began a chain of events that resulted in the massive loss. 
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It was not during lift off.

DeezerShoove » 29 Jan 2024, 8:40 am » wrote: ↑

29 Jan 2024, 8:40 am

It was not during lift off.=15px.

Would lauching be a better word ?
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MackTheFinger » 29 Jan 2024, 8:48 am » wrote: ↑

29 Jan 2024, 8:48 am

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Would lauching be a better word ?
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Do you mean "during launch"? Yes.

If it did not even clear the tower, your title could be said to be more accurate.
Even then liftoff is technically when the mass of the vehicle no longer rests on the pad.