Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
One of my high school teachers was a semi-finalist for the Teacher In Space program, so everyone in our community was glued to the television. I was with some friends, also former students. I still remember the awful silence, our shock and dismay, the intense sadness that followed, and ultimately our gratitude that he wasn't among the crew. I can only imagine what he must have felt that day, watching the events unfold at the school with his class.
NASA isn't what it was because its funding as a percentage of GDP is lower than it ever has been since the manned programs started.
Funding is one problem. Lack of a tangible goal is another.
NASA lost its way. In no little part due to the Shuttle program, but I will not get on that soapbox in this thread. Those 7 guys were brave as all out, no doubt about it, and their sacrifice did help change NASA culture for the better.
I was in 3rd grade and they turned on the TVs in all the classrooms so we could watch.
They had a lot of explaining to do that day to a bunch of kids.
5th grade here...same deal. It was before lunch, I remember that. We ate lunch while watching TV for the rest of the day. I distinctly remember my mother being pretty annoyed that we spent most of the day watching 7 people die on an endless loop.
I think those of us who were kids when it happened were shaken up the most. That's just the impression I get from talking to people who were well into their 20s, 30s, and beyond when it happened. It doesn't seem near as big a deal to them as it does to tail-end Gen-Xers like us.
5th grade here...same deal. It was before lunch, I remember that. We ate lunch while watching TV for the rest of the day. I distinctly remember my mother being pretty annoyed that we spent most of the day watching 7 people die on an endless loop.
I think those of us who were kids when it happened were shaken up the most. That's just the impression I get from talking to people who were well into their 20s, 30s, and beyond when it happened. It doesn't seem near as big a deal to them as it does to tail-end Gen-Xers like us.
Oh, I think those of us who were older were plenty shaken up by what happened.
Not to be too grisly, but what is actually buried in the Christa McAuliffe grave?
Her remains, I reckon.
From what I've read, the crew cabin was recovered with the remains of all seven astronauts. There were some remains that were unidentifiable (remember this was pre-DNA days). Definitely wasn't an open-casket type affair, but they did bury something.
I was living in Southern California and working at USC at the time. No access to a TV, but where I worked there was a receiving department with a radio, that usually was tuned to a rock station. I was working as a data entry technician, but I would often help the person who was in charge of processing merchandise for my department, as I had done that job before becoming data entry. I had walked over to the area where the radio was to make some price tags, and at that very moment, the station (may have been KLOS) broke in with the bulletin. My first thought was of Crista McAulliffe, probably because my mother was a teacher also. When I left work that afternoon, I passed by a newspaper vending machine for the L. A. Times. It was a morning paper, so they would stock it in the morning, and also by the late afternoon the papers would be sold out. Not this time, they had printed an extra with a huge headline "SHUTTLE EXPLODES, CREW KILLED". And that famous picture of the big cloud and the SRBs flying off on their own. Very chilling.
That wasn't the end of it for me, though. About a month after the disaster, I was chosen, along with some of my co-workers, to attend a several day training session called Managing People out in Claremont (for those not familiar with Southern California, that is a city several miles east of Los Angeles, on the L. A. County-San Bernardino County border). On the first day, we got our materials, and the theme was "meet the challenge" or something like that, meaning meet the challenge of managing people. I think you can guess where this was going. On one page, there was a picture of the space shuttle Challenger, I think it was landing after a mission (not sure if it was at Edwards AFB or at the KSC). I winced when I saw that, and I'm sure others did too. Obviously, the materials had been printed in advance of the disaster, and it was too late to change them. Very ironic.
Of course. It was on TV for days, and everyone was shocked and saddened when it happened. Not something people forget.
The news had been promoting the whole "Teacher in space" story for some time leading up to the launch, so this one was in the media more than previous shuttle trips.
We were not allowed to have radios in our office, but one clerk kept one in her desk drawer with the volume turned low. All of a sudden that morning she suddenly yelled, "Oh my God! The space shuttle just blew up!" She pulled the radio out of her drawer and we all ran over to listen.
From what I've read, the crew cabin was recovered with the remains of all seven astronauts. There were some remains that were unidentifiable (remember this was pre-DNA days). Definitely wasn't an open-casket type affair, but they did bury something.
Yes. I remember when they found the cabin, the spokesperson specifically said, "We are talking about remains, not bodies."
From what I've read, the crew cabin was recovered with the remains of all seven astronauts. There were some remains that were unidentifiable (remember this was pre-DNA days). Definitely wasn't an open-casket type affair, but they did bury something.
I read that they identified Judy Resnik by strands of her hair and a necklace. Apparently dental records were insufficient for all.
For following missions they asked astronauts to supply footprints and other ways of identifying them. Grisly.
NASA lost its way. In no little part due to the Shuttle program, but I will not get on that soapbox in this thread. Those 7 guys were brave as all out, no doubt about it, and their sacrifice did help change NASA culture for the better.
I wish their sacrifice was the only one required and there would have been a better outcome for Columbia, but I'm not sure there was a real solution there. 13 years ago today for that loss.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
