30 years ago today

[RF Overlord]

I remember all too vividly watching the space shuttle Challenger disaster live on TV. I saw the explosion and wondered, just for a second, if that was normal stage separation. When I heard mission control say "We've lost the downlink", I knew something awful had happened.

God rest their souls.

[tbone]

I worked with a woman who defected from the Soviet Union who came in the room with a slight grin on her face and reported that the space shuttle just blew up. I'll never forget that.

[Bluerauder]

I worked with a woman who defected from the Soviet Union who came in the room with a slight grin on her face and reported that the space shuttle just blew up. I'll never forget that.


I hope you reported her Commie Ass to the management or some other appropriate action to register your disapproval.

[daddyusmaximus]

I worked with a woman who defected from the Soviet Union who came in the room with a slight grin on her face and reported that the space shuttle just blew up. I'll never forget that.

Did you smack her?


I remember this. It was after my first enlistment. I was attending school, and was on a piss break from class. They had a TV out in the common area, and I saw it live. I went back and told the class, the room emptied... We watched over and over...

3rd most memorable TV moment, behind 9-11 and the '69 moon landing/walk.

[RubberCtyRauder]

I sent to the same high school as Judy Resnik although it was 15 + years later. There is a elementary school named after her in the area

[cruzer]

I was flying my scheduled trip from DFW to Miami and saw the whole disaster unfold from 80 miles away and at 35000 feet .I watched a close personal friend die.
I met Commander Dick Scobee when my youngest daughter was participating in a program here in Texas known as " The Gifted and Talented Student Program'. Outstanding high school students are sent to a summer program at the Texas A&M campus in Galveston. Here they were given introduction to major curriculum fields so they could decide where their future career would be. Though she originally selected vet medicine, she changed her mind when she was introduced to the space age by Professor June Scobee, Dick's wife. She had Dick address the group and he personally interviewed all the students.He then selected 5 boys and 5 girls to be in "Scobee's Crew". He personally mentored them and showed them how NASA worked from the inside. During this time I became friends with Dick and June and spent weekends with them. As a result of this program, Cindy received a full scholarship in Physics to A & M.
I had talked to Dick the day before the launch and we found I would be in position to witness liftoff if I was on schedule, He had previously given me a second by second flight plan for the launch. I was reading it to my passengers during the launch. When I saw the smoke pattern I knew there had been an explosion and and I informed my passengers. What has not been told is that 3 airline crews witnessed the explosion and saw the shuttle come out of the fireball with its left wing blown off and watched it go down. As soon as I got a chance I called June but the call was answered by Deak Slayton . When I told him what I had seen, he asked me for the other crews flight numbers and we were put on a conference call and told not to discuss this with anyone and we gave him our best estimates of the splash down location we were able to determine through the use of our navigation aids. We were about 1/2 mile off.
Cindy watched the whole thing on the school tv. She became depressed and didn't attend classes and lost her scholarship. She still is in contact with June and follows NASA closely. She used her knowledge of physics to become a top-notch Cardio Vascular Ultrasound tech and is happily married.
Sooooo, as the saying goes "And that's the rest of the story "

I will never forget that moment---when I concentrate and close my eyes I still see it clearly. Clear skies and tailwinds to Commander Dick Scobee and crew. Maury

[Marauderjack]

WOW Maury....just WOW!!

[MMBLUE]

I was flying my scheduled trip from DFW to Miami and saw the whole disaster unfold from 80 miles away and at 35000 feet .I watched a close personal friend die.
I met Commander Dick Scobee when my youngest daughter was participating in a program here in Texas known as " The Gifted and Talented Student Program'. Outstanding high school students are sent to a summer program at the Texas A&M campus in Galveston. Here they were given introduction to major curriculum fields so they could decide where their future career would be. Though she originally selected vet medicine, she changed her mind when she was introduced to the space age by Professor June Scobee, Dick's wife. She had Dick address the group and he personally interviewed all the students.He then selected 5 boys and 5 girls to be in "Scobee's Crew". He personally mentored them and showed them how NASA worked from the inside. During this time I became friends with Dick and June and spent weekends with them. As a result of this program, Cindy received a full scholarship in Physics to A & M.
I had talked to Dick the day before the launch and we found I would be in position to witness liftoff if I was on schedule, He had previously given me a second by second flight plan for the launch. I was reading it to my passengers during the launch. When I saw the smoke pattern I knew there had been an explosion and and I informed my passengers. What has not been told is that 3 airline crews witnessed the explosion and saw the shuttle come out of the fireball with its left wing blown off and watched it go down. As soon as I got a chance I called June but the call was answered by Deak Slayton . When I told him what I had seen, he asked me for the other crews flight numbers and we were put on a conference call and told not to discuss this with anyone and we gave him our best estimates of the splash down location we were able to determine through the use of our navigation aids. We were about 1/2 mile off.
Cindy watched the whole thing on the school tv. She became depressed and didn't attend classes and lost her scholarship. She still is in contact with June and follows NASA closely. She used her knowledge of physics to become a top-notch Cardio Vascular Ultrasound tech and is happily married.
Sooooo, as the saying goes "And that's the rest of the story "

I will never forget that moment---when I concentrate and close my eyes I still see it clearly. Clear skies and tailwinds to Commander Dick Scobee and crew. Maury

Incredible story Maury. Thank you for sharing :bows:

[sailsmen]

"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God.""

[tbone]

Your personal story made my hair stand on end and my eyes tear up. Thanks for sharing.

[justbob]

I was flying my scheduled trip from DFW to Miami and saw the whole disaster unfold from 80 miles away and at 35000 feet .I watched a close personal friend die.

I met Commander Dick Scobee when my youngest daughter was participating in a program here in Texas known as " The Gifted and Talented Student Program'. Outstanding high school students are sent to a summer program at the Texas A&M campus in Galveston. Here they were given introduction to major curriculum fields so they could decide where their future career would be. Though she originally selected vet medicine, she changed her mind when she was introduced to the space age by Professor June Scobee, Dick's wife. She had Dick address the group and he personally interviewed all the students.He then selected 5 boys and 5 girls to be in "Scobee's Crew". He personally mentored them and showed them how NASA worked from the inside. During this time I became friends with Dick and June and spent weekends with them. As a result of this program, Cindy received a full scholarship in Physics to A & M.

I had talked to Dick the day before the launch and we found I would be in position to witness liftoff if I was on schedule, He had previously given me a second by second flight plan for the launch. I was reading it to my passengers during the launch. When I saw the smoke pattern I knew there had been an explosion and and I informed my passengers. What has not been told is that 3 airline crews witnessed the explosion and saw the shuttle come out of the fireball with its left wing blown off and watched it go down. As soon as I got a chance I called June but the call was answered by Deak Slayton . When I told him what I had seen, he asked me for the other crews flight numbers and we were put on a conference call and told not to discuss this with anyone and we gave him our best estimates of the splash down location we were able to determine through the use of our navigation aids. We were about 1/2 mile off.

Cindy watched the whole thing on the school tv. She became depressed and didn't attend classes and lost her scholarship. She still is in contact with June and follows NASA closely. She used her knowledge of physics to become a top-notch Cardio Vascular Ultrasound tech and is happily married.

Sooooo, as the saying goes "And that's the rest of the story "



I will never forget that moment---when I concentrate and close my eyes I still see it clearly. Clear skies and tailwinds to Commander Dick Scobee and crew. Maury


Maury, meeting you a few years ago in Louisville and getting a chance to look at your photo album and hearing you share your life's experiences with us was one of our most memorable experiences out of seven years of Louisville meets!

Sorry I only had fifteen minutes to take it all in AND fix my clock spring before we rolled out on a convoy..

Melanie and I loved every minute of it regardless!


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[Mike M]

Wifey and I were on a NASA tour that day, we were there when it blew up. I have my own pictures of the disaster.
The are on my Facebook page.
Anthem MobilOne is the page.

[Joe Walsh]

Incredible story Maury. Thank you for sharing :bows:

+1!

I was waiting in my Economics class when the Professor walked in and announced what had happened.
We all sat in stunned silence.
After class we went over to the University Student Center and watched the News updates.
I still remember how cold it was that morning....could hardly get any heat in my car on the way to UMBC.
If only NASA officials had payed more attention to that cold.....:shake:

[justbob]

The Challenger moment was no doubt a serious kick in the "WTF just happened" mental department..

Although it was the Columbia break up that knocked me backwards as I was in attendance to the first ever shuttle lift off in '81. That shuttle was the Columbia..

That left me pretty shook up knowing this was the very bird I saw lift off 22 years earlier.

On top of that I took my family to the Kennedy Space Center in 2012 and got a super rare chance to go inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. It was only a two year window of tours allowed since '78 in the now fifty year old building.. Even more rare was the surprise laying inside, Endeavor! It was being prepared for its trip to the Smithsonian. The haunting was knowledge of knowing that Columbia's pieces where above us the whole time in vacant offices.. They never announced it because it's depressing, but it's common knowledge throughout the inter webs.

Given the chance I'd still take a ride in the hot seat of a shuttle ANYDAY. Rockets are lame. The pick up truck workaholic shuttle and her good looks was always my main interest.


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[sailsmen]

Charles Bolden, a retired United States Marines Corps major-general and former astronaut, said in an interview with al-Jazeera that Nasa was not only a space exploration agency but also an "Earth improvement agency".
Mr Bolden said: "When I became the Nasa administrator, he [Mr Obama] charged me with three things.
"One, he wanted me to help reinspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering."
He added: "It is a matter of trying to reach out and get the best of all worlds, if you will, and there is much to be gained by drawing in the contributions that are possible from the Muslim [nations]."

[tbone]

I did have the honor of seeing a successful shuttle launch in person back in 2009. The pride I felt to my country was, and is, immeasurable.