30th anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle tragedy

[nutcase]

I don't remember what I was doing as I was 9, but I remember the even well and it started my interest in all things Shuttle.

Very happy to have seen a launch, even if it was from a very long way away before they were retired.

 

[Craig1981]

I was only 5 years old when this happened. It totally sailed over my head at the time of course. Terrible tragedy. RIP

 

[AtreuS]

Wow i feel so old now! i remember seeing it as it happened.

Such a stupid tragedy so easily avoided.

They all had the bravery to strap themselves into a glorified bomb and take the risk..... so many things that can go wrong but they fought the fear and did it anyway.

Everyone who goes into space must lie in bed the night before and come to terms with life and spend hours thinking "i am very likely going to die tomorrow"

RIP

They died doing something that would benefit all of mankind. Not many can say that.

 

[Orionaut]

I know exactly where I was on that day.

Traversing a mini roundabout in Farnborough (Now a traffic light junction) near the RAE!

Heard it on the radio!



Spooky but true!

Spoiler

The night before the Columbia crash, I suddenly sat up in the wee small hours, waking the GF, shouting "They're all going to die".

I went on to explain that I had just had a nightmare about a space disaster!

Later that day......!:/

Still creeps me out a bit!

 

[robfosters]

Please excuse the 6 year bump, but just letting you know there’s an excellent and quite hard hitting Netflix original documentary about this that’s recently been released. Made me quite angry. It’s called Challenger: The final flight.

 

[Chris Wilson]

We're bodies recovered and intered? I am not sure just how catastrophic the event was, physically, but remember thinking how tragic it must be for their families seeing the event unfold before their eyes.

 

[Spook187]

We're bodies recovered and intered? I am not sure just how catastrophic the event was, physically, but remember thinking how tragic it must be for their families seeing the event unfold before their eyes.

The cockpit survived the explosion and the astronauts were still alive when it hit the sea as far as I read all the remains were recovered.

 

[Freakbro]

The cockpit survived the explosion and the astronauts were still alive when it hit the sea as far as I read all the remains were recovered.

Unlikely they would have been fully conscious, if at all, though and after collision with the water it was more remains than bodies.

Though horribly one of the crew floated out of the module on recovery and sank back into the sea, but astronauts involved didn't give up and one guy took on the recovery personally, which took him a couple of months to finally find it.

 

[LeoK]

I know exactly where I was on that day.

I remember turning to the TV just a few seconds before SRB forked off.

I still remember finding out about this on TV-AM. RIP

 

[BUDFORCE]

Unlikely they would have been fully conscious, if at all, though and after collision with the water it was more remains than bodies.

There is evidence at least the pilot or captain (I can't remember which) were concious after the initial break up as some of the switches and controls in the cockpit had been changed outside of any proceedure for that stage of the flight.

Chilling really to think about it.