“On Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members.” – NYT
In this photo from Jan. 9, 1986, the Challenger crew takes a break during countdown training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Left to right are Teacher-in-Space payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe; payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission commander; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist;Mike J. Smith, pilot; and Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist.
Image Credit: NASA
If you are old enough, and lived in the States, you probably remember where you were when you heard about the explosion. You certainly remember the endless replays of those 73 seconds from launch to explosion and then the seemingly unreal time it took to disintegrate and come down in the Atlantic.
In honor of the anniversary I decided to post a few images I took during the Enterprise flyover on 4/27/12.
January 29th, 2013 at 6:21 pm
I remember it, but not where I was or what I was doing … not the same as with the JFK assassination and 9/11.
You got some awesome shots of the shuttle!
January 29th, 2013 at 10:41 pm
Sometimes you have the camera and are in the right place!
January 29th, 2013 at 1:10 am
I will never forget the look of disbelief on Christa McAuliffe’s mother’s face. For ages it really haunted me. And I have thought of her children through the years, too, wondering about their lives. Thank you for remembering these remarkable individuals with this post. I’m old enough to have a few of the moments in history you don’t forget, but for my children, now in their mid-thirties, this is the one event they name as their first really shocking “where were you when” moments. Great Enteprise photos!
January 29th, 2013 at 10:33 pm
Thank you. There are a number of historical events in my life that I can pin things to and this is one of them.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:08 pm
Needless piece of trivia, but Ron McNair grew up in a town south of Florence, South Carolina (where I grew up.) We drive through Lake City and see his name every time we go to Scott’s BBQ on the way to visit my parents.
I loved these pictures of the shuttle when you posted some of them before.
January 29th, 2013 at 10:34 pm
Thanks. I vaguely remembered that he grew up in a Carolina. Now I can pinpoint it.
January 28th, 2013 at 10:37 pm
I was in my office watching this on TV with a friend and co-worker whose husband was an astronaut originally scheduled for this mission, but scrubbed due to a medical condition. Pat knew all of these people. Because the Mercury astronauts–The Right Stuff guys—did much of their their training near where I live (before LBJ took NASA HQ to Houston), astronauts and their families were part of the local scene. I was once awakened in the middle of the night to go down into our kitchen and meet Alan Shepherd, who was attending my parents’ New Year’s Eve party with his wife. We stood on the lawn in front of their house on the day he went into space.
January 28th, 2013 at 10:16 pm
I could have clicked “like” for your photos for they are indeed really great, however, I do remember exactly where I was for those 73 seconds…just like JFK and 9/11….all dates burned in our memory. Thank you for remembering. I had looked at the 73 seconds earlier today and felt the horror all over again.
January 29th, 2013 at 10:34 pm
It is still truly hard to look at.