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While the world seems focused on the ongoing turmoil in Egypt, people seem to have forgotten that another tragety happened on this day 25 years ago...
28 Jan. 1986:
That day was supposed to have been a good day. I was in the 4th grade, and it was field trip day, (to see a play, or the symphony, can't remember which.) While waiting for the school bus at my friend's grandparents house, (just a few houses up the street from mine, and ironically next door to my/our kindergarten teacher), both of us, out of boredom, decided to peak into the window to see what his grandma was watching. There on the tv we saw what looked like the space shuttle exploding into a Y-shaped contrail. Neither of us understood what was going on until we got to school and it was only then we learned that the Challenger expolded. It was the only talk on campus. Needless to say, the field trip went on as planned, but noone enjoyed it.
Worse of all, (for us, that is) one of the astronauts, LtCol. Ellison Onizuka, was from Hawaii.
For my generation, this was our 9-11/Pearl Harbor/Kennedy Assasination moment, but it wasn't goining to be the last, or the worst. (I've still yet to see that, and hopefully never will.) Ever since then, everytime I see a shuttle launch, I relive that moment.
Some 20 years later, I get the other bookend when the Colombia went down in flames.
28 Jan. 1986:
That day was supposed to have been a good day. I was in the 4th grade, and it was field trip day, (to see a play, or the symphony, can't remember which.) While waiting for the school bus at my friend's grandparents house, (just a few houses up the street from mine, and ironically next door to my/our kindergarten teacher), both of us, out of boredom, decided to peak into the window to see what his grandma was watching. There on the tv we saw what looked like the space shuttle exploding into a Y-shaped contrail. Neither of us understood what was going on until we got to school and it was only then we learned that the Challenger expolded. It was the only talk on campus. Needless to say, the field trip went on as planned, but noone enjoyed it.
Worse of all, (for us, that is) one of the astronauts, LtCol. Ellison Onizuka, was from Hawaii.
For my generation, this was our 9-11/Pearl Harbor/Kennedy Assasination moment, but it wasn't goining to be the last, or the worst. (I've still yet to see that, and hopefully never will.) Ever since then, everytime I see a shuttle launch, I relive that moment.
Some 20 years later, I get the other bookend when the Colombia went down in flames.
Category Current Events / All
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Yeah, it's still really close to home over here, too. Christa McAuliffe is still very much remembered... I remember going to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discover Center (planetarium) for several school field trips.
In fact, my mother currently works at the local primary school; the principal there used to babysit Christa McAuliffe's kids.
In fact, my mother currently works at the local primary school; the principal there used to babysit Christa McAuliffe's kids.
I remember that day so clearly... That morning I turned on the radio to hear the news while I shaved, something I normally never did, and heard the news. I felt awful. The shuttle was one of the crowning creations of human race, it was not a matter of the nation who built her. Challenger was of mankind and its destruction still hurts.
Over the years I have witness more than my share of tragedies. The assassination of John and Robert Kennedy, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, John Lennon. I've seen the fates of Challenger and the Columbia, Apollo 1 and the near tragedy of Apollo 13. On 9.1.1 I was speaking with a man in the trade center over the phone, I don't know if he made it or not. I add to this list the loss of close friends and loved ones, the memories of which still cause me to break down and weep. I steel myself to the fact the list will inevitability grow and I pray that it doesn't. I take solace in this saying, " To live in the hearts we leave behind is to never die. Hold close the memory of those who go before us and let them live on through our thoughts and actions….."
I was actually there for the launch. Granted, I was 2, so I don't remember it personally, but my family took photos. As heavy as I am in to space exploration (and, the fact I'm freaking human), has always made this tragedy sting that much more. Even if I don't remember it when it was fresh, it was still a heavy loss that's still felt to this day.
*nods sadly* I still remember that vividly, as a child, I was all of 5 at the time, but my mom worked at JPL, and I remember her holding ym dad and crying, and when I asked why and they explained it to me, I hugged her to try and help her feel better; funny what memories stay with you.
I was a little kid then when Challenger exploded, and I remember that day still. I was in the fifth grade. We were watching the shuttle launch live. each class was in a separate room watching these small televisions and I remember staring in awe as the shuttle took off. I remember the relief people seemed to feel. Back then, people only thought a shuttle would blow up on the launch pad, so take off was a matter of joy. When it exploded, The teachers didn't know what to do. They gave us a choice, go back to the room or stay and listen. I stayed.
When Columbus exploded, it rained down around my backyard of Texas and again I remember how surprised everyone was. The shuttles were only supposed to have problems leaving, not returning.
Now I live down the street from NASA in Houston. I can go to the Johnson space center and see the emblems they use. They make one for every mission. There is the ongoing mission wall and the completed mission wall. When the astronauts return, it's moved to the completed wall. Challenger and Columbus still hang on the ongoing missions wall to this day.
When Columbus exploded, it rained down around my backyard of Texas and again I remember how surprised everyone was. The shuttles were only supposed to have problems leaving, not returning.
Now I live down the street from NASA in Houston. I can go to the Johnson space center and see the emblems they use. They make one for every mission. There is the ongoing mission wall and the completed mission wall. When the astronauts return, it's moved to the completed wall. Challenger and Columbus still hang on the ongoing missions wall to this day.
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