Space Shuttle Challenger: 25 years later, America's wound still aches

[RamboLiberal]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For many, no single word evokes as much pain.

Challenger.

A quarter-century later, images of the exploding space shuttle still signify all that can go wrong with technology and the sharpest minds. The accident on Jan. 28, 1986 — a scant 73 seconds into flight, nine miles above the Atlantic for all to see — remains NASA's most visible failure.

It was the world's first high-tech catastrophe to unfold on live TV. Adding to the anguish was the young audience: Schoolchildren everywhere tuned in that morning to watch the launch of the first schoolteacher and ordinary citizen bound for space, Christa McAuliffe.

She never made it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41296542/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Actually the networks were not covering it live. Shuttle flights had become routine. Of course Christa McAuliffe made that different. I bet most of us who weren't young children at the time can remember exactly where we were when you learned about it. I can. Still makes me sad to think of all the warnings about the cold weather that were ignored by NASA and the management members at Morton Thiokol when their engineers were advising to scrub the mission.

[slackmaster]

1. It's very strange now thinking about the initial reaction that a lot of people around me had

The Soviet Union must have sabotaged the Shuttle.

[RamboLiberal]

2. Never heard that - heard speculation that Reagan had some responsibility

His SOTU was that night & speculation was WH pushed NASA for the launch for the publicity of the teacher in space. That was a program Reagan had announced.

The SOTU was cancelled for that night. I ran across an old VCR tape a few years ago with Reagan speaking to the nation that night about the tragedy. I will give him kudos that night for a very emphathetic speech.

[PCIntern]

4. You know, you reminded me of that...

they said that they shot laser beams or something like that, or a missle at the fuel tanks.

[JVS]

11. My friends claimed it was because one of the astronauts farted.

We were young and immature :-)

[teamster633]

3. If I remember correctly, St. Ronnie was counting on that launch...

...as a prop for his SOTU speech that year. 'Some people say' there was undue pressure applied to mission control to keep that shuttle on schedule.

[alsame]

8. I remember something like that too, hearing that the mission

was rushed before NASA was ready.

[Pithlet]

5. I remember exactly where I was when I found out.

I was in the eight grade and I was in between classes. I overheard other classmates talking about it in the hall. Then I remember going home watching the news and seeing the footage.

[slackmaster]

6. I was at work on my first job as an information systems analyst, at a bank

Having recently been promoted from a temporary gig as a technical writer.

[RamboLiberal]

7. I was just coming in the lunch room at work & saw shuttle on TV

and made a comment I guess they finally got it launched (wasn't to explosion yet) and co-worker informed me it had exploded. This wasn't live but the news breaking in to show what happened.

[justabob]

12. algebra II class in high school

We were watching it live in class. It was horrible. Our teacher wanted so badly to be the teacher astronaut on that flight. He was particularly devestated.

[applegrove]

14. I turned on the tv in my university residence just before it happened. That was unreal.

[sendero]

9. It wasn't "technology and the sharpest minds"..

... it was a jackass middle manager overruling the engineers.

[SoCalDem]

10. yup..and a cavalier atttitude that nothing would go wrong

:(

[applegrove]

13. High Flight

by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (June 9, 1922 – December 11, 1941)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gillespie_Magee,_Jr.


High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

[somone]

15. Thanks to corporate corner-cutting and incompetent management

“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.” - Richard Feynman

[RamboLiberal]

16. Two men fought to prevent Challenger launch

OGDEN -- Allan J. McDonald felt so strongly the space shuttle Challenger should not launch 25 years ago today that he put his name and his job on the line to stop it.
He and the engineers with him said temperatures were too cold to safely use the booster motors Morton Thiokol (now ATK Space Systems) had built.

Although several engineers were working on the problem -- Roger Boisjoly argued fiercely against launch -- McDonald's position was unique. He was Morton Thiokol's senior representative at Kennedy Space Center. His job was to approve the motors for launch.

Despite enormous pressure from his employers and NASA, he refused to sign. His supervisors in Utah overruled him and faxed a signature to NASA indicating the company, if not McDonald, approved the launch.

Both McDonald and Boisjoly paid dearly for their efforts.

http://www.standard.net/topics/atk/2011/01/27/two-men-fought-prevent-challenger-launch

[Octafish]

17. Integrity.

The ingredient missing from the American formula for too long.

[Forkboy]

18. That was such a bad day.

I felt bad for my friend at the time. There was so much hype leading up to it that he jokingly said the day before, "I wish it would just blow up." The next day I had slept in and didn't even know about it yet, and my friend came over and handed me a special edition of the town's paper about the explosion. My friend sat down and just started crying and crying.

[somone]

19. Christa McAuliffe & Challenger on The Big Picture:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/01/challenger_disaster_25_years_l.html