It’s one of those events you always remember. President Reagan’s speech to Americans after is also one.
It’s one of those events you always remember. President Reagan’s speech to Americans after is also one.
Oh man, I had forgotten that was today. Here's how I remember it.
I was in 1st grade, and we were one of the lucky schools that got looped in on the live coverage. Not sure if that was because we were part of a government program, or because our district subscribed to CNN. I'm too young to know how it worked. But I do remember our elementary school had about 30 classrooms, and only 15 TVs, so we had to share. Every classroom had two classes in it, so some 60 kids, 2 teachers, and 2 TA's, instead of the usual 30-1-1. My class didn't have to travel. The TV was in our room, and the class across the hall came over to watch it. They sat in the aisles between the desks. And we watched history as a teacher went into space.
I honestly don't remember my reaction to the event. I don't think I understood it, to be honest. I do remember the teachers being distraught, and the class being broken up. I remember we left early. They had called all the parents to come pick us up. I remember there was talk of counseling available for kids who needed it. I didn't. Probably no one did in my class. Like I said, 1st grade. That counseling was probably for the 4th and 5th graders who had a better understanding of what they had witnessed.
Then I remember being at home and watching the President speak on television with my parents. I do not recall even then understanding what he was talking about, but I remember it being a solemn moment for the entire family. If I didn't understand it then, I came to understand it later.
When I finally got to college, I studied all sorts of crazy things, but decided on communications as a post-graduate (I wish I had kept it up, to be honest), and we studied Reagan a lot. Especially that speech. I was part of a seminar on emergency response, and we had huge projects we did (I helped a local Catholic school put together a plan for how they would react in any kind of emergency), but before we went out in public, we studied NASA's response to the disaster as an example of the wrong way to do things. While Reagan's speech was viewed as the absolute right way to do them.
Part of me wishes I had been just a few years older, so I could have understood what was going on a little better. But another part of me is grateful I was spared that understanding. But I am grateful that I have the few memories I have of that day, because now that I am older and understand better what I witnessed, I can look back and realize that I was some small part of a seminal moment in American history.
And the Prez's speech was one of the best that any politician ever gave in any situation:
Thanks for the link. Not sure why mine didn’t work.It’s one of those events you always remember. President Reagan’s speech to Americans after is also one.
Oh man, I had forgotten that was today. Here's how I remember it.
I was in 1st grade, and we were one of the lucky schools that got looped in on the live coverage. Not sure if that was because we were part of a government program, or because our district subscribed to CNN. I'm too young to know how it worked. But I do remember our elementary school had about 30 classrooms, and only 15 TVs, so we had to share. Every classroom had two classes in it, so some 60 kids, 2 teachers, and 2 TA's, instead of the usual 30-1-1. My class didn't have to travel. The TV was in our room, and the class across the hall came over to watch it. They sat in the aisles between the desks. And we watched history as a teacher went into space.
I honestly don't remember my reaction to the event. I don't think I understood it, to be honest. I do remember the teachers being distraught, and the class being broken up. I remember we left early. They had called all the parents to come pick us up. I remember there was talk of counseling available for kids who needed it. I didn't. Probably no one did in my class. Like I said, 1st grade. That counseling was probably for the 4th and 5th graders who had a better understanding of what they had witnessed.
Then I remember being at home and watching the President speak on television with my parents. I do not recall even then understanding what he was talking about, but I remember it being a solemn moment for the entire family. If I didn't understand it then, I came to understand it later.
When I finally got to college, I studied all sorts of crazy things, but decided on communications as a post-graduate (I wish I had kept it up, to be honest), and we studied Reagan a lot. Especially that speech. I was part of a seminar on emergency response, and we had huge projects we did (I helped a local Catholic school put together a plan for how they would react in any kind of emergency), but before we went out in public, we studied NASA's response to the disaster as an example of the wrong way to do things. While Reagan's speech was viewed as the absolute right way to do them.
Part of me wishes I had been just a few years older, so I could have understood what was going on a little better. But another part of me is grateful I was spared that understanding. But I am grateful that I have the few memories I have of that day, because now that I am older and understand better what I witnessed, I can look back and realize that I was some small part of a seminal moment in American history.
And the Prez's speech was one of the best that any politician ever gave in any situation:
One of my worst days as a young teacher. We had been studying space, wrote Christa McCauliffe letters, and had a full day planned around space activities after watching it live. I turned it off really quickly and we all h g ot instructions to just tell the kids there was an accident so they could talk to their parents about it first. Then we talked about it the next day. 9/11 was probably the hardest day but that was close.
I was eye-ball deep in work on that day. I think an upcoming trial. An associate banged on my office door, said what happened. Our only TV was in the conference room, I watched a few minutes of the coverage then back to work. Worked evenings and didn’t hear Reagan’s speech. When the work pressure is ramped up, I focus on that and pretty much exclude everything else.
One of my very good friends is a mechanical engineer who specializes in failures. He was all over this and I remember many conversations on chairlifts that year talking about why it happened and the engineering decisions that led up to it.
FWIW, several years later I read a book written by a shuttle astronaut. He discussed the Challenger and commented on NASA efforts to drum up political support by having nonprofessionals, like teachers, ride the shuttle for PR purposes.
I was in graduate school and was working in the lab. I remember hearing another lab member turn on a radio and saw people gathering around. I asked what was going on and one said that the shuttle just blew up. Of course this was before cell phones, streaming video, and even before there was internet on everyone's desktop, so actual info was slower to get around.
"You can't make someone listen to reason if they aren't willing to think"-- Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
I was in Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island a few days from commissioning. I think everyone in my company was watching the news in the company lounge. Sad day. Reagan's speech was perfect.
I was in middle school at the time, but we actually had a snow day that day. We had all gathered over at a friend's house for some reason, and someone else called the house and told us to put on the news. I remember we were watching it in the basement on a big TV (like huge....35" or something) and while I don't remember much of the footage, I distinctly remember my friend Scott just saying "Wow, they're toast. There's going to be nothing to bury." I can barely remember that friend and couldn't describe what he looks like anymore, but I can still hear his voice in my head perfectly uttering that sentence.
About two days later, I remember a kid at school telling a joke at the bus stop "How could you tell that the Challenger astronauts did not have dandruff? Because there was head and shoulders all over the beach." It took alot of self-control not to deck him for that.
I just watched the Netflix doc they did on this. The hearing after were pretty interesting and the back story that they give on why it happened.
A simple o-ring.
It’s one of those events you always remember. President Reagan’s speech to Americans after is also one.
Oh man, I had forgotten that was today. Here's how I remember it.
I was in 1st grade, and we were one of the lucky schools that got looped in on the live coverage. Not sure if that was because we were part of a government program, or because our district subscribed to CNN. I'm too young to know how it worked. But I do remember our elementary school had about 30 classrooms, and only 15 TVs, so we had to share. Every classroom had two classes in it, so some 60 kids, 2 teachers, and 2 TA's, instead of the usual 30-1-1. My class didn't have to travel. The TV was in our room, and the class across the hall came over to watch it. They sat in the aisles between the desks. And we watched history as a teacher went into space.
I honestly don't remember my reaction to the event. I don't think I understood it, to be honest. I do remember the teachers being distraught, and the class being broken up. I remember we left early. They had called all the parents to come pick us up. I remember there was talk of counseling available for kids who needed it. I didn't. Probably no one did in my class. Like I said, 1st grade. That counseling was probably for the 4th and 5th graders who had a better understanding of what they had witnessed.
Then I remember being at home and watching the President speak on television with my parents. I do not recall even then understanding what he was talking about, but I remember it being a solemn moment for the entire family. If I didn't understand it then, I came to understand it later.
When I finally got to college, I studied all sorts of crazy things, but decided on communications as a post-graduate (I wish I had kept it up, to be honest), and we studied Reagan a lot. Especially that speech. I was part of a seminar on emergency response, and we had huge projects we did (I helped a local Catholic school put together a plan for how they would react in any kind of emergency), but before we went out in public, we studied NASA's response to the disaster as an example of the wrong way to do things. While Reagan's speech was viewed as the absolute right way to do them.
Part of me wishes I had been just a few years older, so I could have understood what was going on a little better. But another part of me is grateful I was spared that understanding. But I am grateful that I have the few memories I have of that day, because now that I am older and understand better what I witnessed, I can look back and realize that I was some small part of a seminal moment in American history.
And the Prez's speech was one of the best that any politician ever gave in any situation:
Geez you’re young.
I was in law school - in my apartment - getting ready for class - had a small b/w tv.
“Space” was huge in my childhood. Sputnik had guaranteed it. JFK ‘s “we choose to go to the moon” speech (also a great one). John Glenn orbiting earth. Gus Grissom. Our whole school would go to the gym and watch Apollo launches on 1 tv. Watched the whole world stop when Neil Armstrong come down the ladder, and again when Apollo 13 made it through re-entry (we pulled off the interstate and watched that with hundreds of people in a truck stop). Parents were teachers so I was interested in this launch and followed Christa McAuliffe’s role.
I miss Ronald Reagan too.
I know NASA got dragged for this event, rightfully so, but overall their professionalism is nearly beyond comparison. Even Columbia was a situation they knew COULD happen but was a known risk in a sea of potential calamities. They are piercing the atmosphere in ways that generally destroy anything that enters it. Their safety record, considering the circumstances, is remarkable.
Case in point: the Columbia disaster. Incredible courage and professionalism under enormous emotional strain.
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