The Challenger Disaster

[Cinnamon Girl]

17 years ago today (January 28th), the Challenger space shuttle exploded seconds after lift off.

Hard to believe it's been that long. This is one of the first historical events that I remember being witness to, if only by watching it on TV, like millions of others. I was 12 years old at the time and I still remember the shock and sadness I felt.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/01/28/shuttle.challenger.ap/index.html

[MammaStar]

I saw the photo. WtchyChick & I were together that day. We had mid-terms and we went back to her house along with a friend to hang out between exams. I think Wtchy was in the kitchen, I remember calling out to her having her come to look at the TV.

I tried explaining it to my son, that the Space shuttle launches were televised a lot more back then because it was all new & exciting. Then after that day, no more.

[WtchyChick13]

Originally posted by LdyStarlite
I saw the photo. WtchyChick & I were together that day. We had mid-terms and we went back to her house along with a friend to hang out between exams. I think Wtchy was in the kitchen, I remember calling out to her having her come to look at the TV.




Wow! You remember that? I remember the crash (of course) but for some reason have the day blocked out.

I do remember them showing the footage over and over again (think 9/11 images) and thinking how sorry I felt for the families of the crew for not being able to escape it.

I still cry every time I see that video footage. They showed it tonite and it felt like I was watching it for the first time.

MSNBC showed a special hour on the tragedy once. I believe it was sometime last year.(?) They may repeat it again this weekend since it's the anniversary week.

It was amazing. They showed the whole history of the mission--from choosing Christa MacCullife to the investigation. It was quite moving really.

Here's a bit of trivia for y'all:

Did you know that before they were deciding on using a teacher for the mission, John Denver was supposed to fly on the Challenger? True story. He was about to start the training when they thought it would be better publicity to use a teacher. If you recall, the space program was in serious trouble back then and they needed a boost--that's why they had her in the first place.

If you ever listen to the song "Flying for Me" by John Denver, not only will it bring you to tears, but he really does an amaing tribute to the Challenger crew. I listened to it again after 9/11 and the words took on a whole new meaning...I think you'll see why:

"They were flying for me,
they were flying for everyone,
they were trying to see,
a brighter day for each and everyone.

They gave us their lives,
they gave us their spirit,
and all they could be....

They were flying for me." :(

[Mnemosyne]

I will never forget Jan. 28, 1986. It's one of those dates that just sticks in my head. I remember the day vividly. It was my best friend's b-day, and I was in the first grade. (yeah, I'm a bit younger than you guys. lol) My class was watching the launch on tv. Although we were so young, we sure experienced the emotion of sadness.
WtchyChick, I had no idea that John Denver was suppose to be on the Challenger. Spooky that he ended up dying in a plane accident.
It's nice that people are still giving thought to this event. If I'm ever in Little Tokyo, I remember the event, since that location has a nice sculpture for Onizuka, the Japanese American astronaut.

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Let us also never forget the astronauts who lost their lives today on their way back to Earth on the Columbia mission.

Unbelievable...almost 17 years exactly.

[Valnorran]

The Apolo fire was in January. The Challenger explosion was in January. Now this. Maybe NASA out to ground themselves during January. That month doesn't seem to favor them.

[Xander67]

I dont believe this is an attack of a physical nature,
I believe this is more of a spiritual one..

a friend of mine pointed out to me on a masonic newsgroup that
February 1, comes nine months, or the length of a "pregnancy",
after May 1, the anniversary of the founding of the Bavarian Illuminati in
1776.

could be relevant or not but he is very concerned about the entities at war here

[Mithrea]

Attack? Neither was an attack.

Also, as Semele will tell you, a pregnancy is 10 months, not nine.

[Xander67]

:rolleyes: pardon my error lol

my point was that maybey there are forces at work here which we know nothing about .

9 months, 10 months, ....not the issue, I was just trying to add something that could be possibly interesting to the conversation

[Autumn]

Canoodling around beltane will most likely result in an birthday somewhere around the 24th of January. plenty of pregnancies however, go to 41 weeks! To the great disgust of many moms :lol:

Maybe Nasa should ground themselves in January, it is a bad month for them...

edited to fix my smily

[Cinnamon Girl]

Originally posted by WtchyChick13
Did you know that before they were deciding on using a teacher for the mission, John Denver was supposed to fly on the Challenger? True story. He was about to start the training when they thought it would be better publicity to use a teacher. If you recall, the space program was in serious trouble back then and they needed a boost--that's why they had her in the first place.

If you ever listen to the song "Flying for Me" by John Denver, not only will it bring you to tears, but he really does an amaing tribute to the Challenger crew. I listened to it again after 9/11 and the words took on a whole new meaning...I think you'll see why:

"They were flying for me,
they were flying for everyone,
they were trying to see,
a brighter day for each and everyone.

They gave us their lives,
they gave us their spirit,
and all they could be....

They were flying for me." :( Wtchy, now that you mentioned it, I do recall hearing something about Denver being considered for it. I'd never heard that song though ~ it gave me chills just to read it in your post. And now with the Columbia, you're right (from your post in JT), it has renewed meaning.

And then to think that Denver himself died in a plane crash. :(

[WtchyChick13]

Originally posted by MoonOwl
Wtchy, now that you mentioned it, I do recall hearing something about Denver being considered for it. I'd never heard that song though ~ it gave me chills just to read it in your post. And now with the Columbia, you're right (from your post in JT), it has renewed meaning.

And then to think that Denver himself died in a plane crash. :(

I went to the concert he did the summer after Challenger and he debuted the song there. Not a dry eye there. If you ever find the cd "One World" by him--get it!

Many of the songs he wrote that year are very appropriate for this time in our history. (For example the song, "What are we making weapons for?")

The other nite I was up (what else is new) and was still glued to the news for info about the Columbia disaster. At one point they showed the town where Laurel Clarke was from and at one of the memorial services the folks there were singing, "They were flying for me." Of course I went hysterical crying.

Here is a link to the lyrics for the whole song: Flying For Me (http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?sid=%7C%CE%FF6%A1%EF%11%83)

I'd post 'em, but of course, we have policies.


Those old enough to truly remember the time of the Challenger will understand fully the verse about Christa MacCullife. :(

[Cinnamon Girl]

Originally posted by WtchyChick13
Those old enough to truly remember the time of the Challenger will understand fully the verse about Christa MacCullife. :( Yes, indeed. For many years I kept a copy of the Newsweek magazine that came out after the explosion, with Christa on the cover. In all my moves, however, it's been lost. :(

Incidentally, they were interviewing Christa's Mom on the local news last night (their family is from MA) and she was commenting on the viability of the space program. I believe she voiced the thoughts of many when she said that if they were to discontinue it, then the death of her daughter and all the others would be in vain.

[WtchyChick13]

Oh I agree fully. It needs to go on. We've only scratched the surface of what can be seen out there and it certainly needs to continue.

I started a thread in Just Talk: http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24269 It's about a program I watched on A&E last nite about the Atlantis mission to the International Space Station.

Watching this show really put the future of the space program into perspective for me. Learning about the training and what they hoped to accomplish...they can't stop now. It really is just the start.