28 years later: Challenger photos you've never seen

Started by Brad, January 16, 2014, 10:46:09 PM

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Brad

QuoteA Reddit user was cleaning out his grandparents' things when he stumbled upon these unique images of a national tragedy that happened nearly 30 years ago....

http://www.hlntv.com/slideshow/2014/01/16/challenger-pictures-explosion-tragedy-old-photos?hpt=hln10_1&hpt=hp_c4

As a little month-old 3-month early preemie, I obviously was too little to really remember Challenger, but as someone being fascinated with space since I was a child, I always remember asking my mom to "tell me about the one that exploded" or words along those lines. She says she always remembers it because that was the first day she went back to work.
Brad Lee
Maj, CAP
Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications
Mid-Atlantic Region
K4RMN

capmaj

I was there when it happened. It was truly both stunning and sorrowful to see.

PHall

From that launch until the very last one, I always held my breath at the "GO at throttle up" call.

bosshawk

Along with the JFK assassination, the Challenger explosion will always stick in my mind.  I was a CIA intelligence officer, giving a briefing to the CIA Deputy Director for S & T and his staff, when we were interrupted to be told of the disaster.  Elison Onizuka, a crewman on that mission, had been involved in the launch of one of our payloads on a previous mission and a number of people in that room that day knew him personally.

I agree with Phil, I never saw a shuttle launch again that I didn't hold my breath.  I later worked on STS-27 and knew that crew.
Paul M. Reed
Col, USA(ret)
Former CAP Lt Col
Wilson #2777

sardak

I was working on a project which was to have its first launch on the next flight scheduled after Challenger. One of my co-workers, the "story-teller" in the group, called to tell me that the Challenger blew up. I was expressing my skepticism to him, that it was another of his stories, when another phone rang in the office. The person who answered interrupted me to say that it's his wife and she just watched it on television.  The rest of the day was pretty miserable. Our project did go into space, but not on the shuttle.

I also remember where I was when the Columbia disintegrated in 2003, on the way to teach a "Managing Land Search Operations" class.

Mike

a2capt

I had one of these, with earphones .. it was my second period class, 11th grade year. There was not a lot of interest at school .. I had it sitting on the desk, tuned to the news channel, that was feeding the launch audio., with the single ear phone stuck in so I could hear it, and the teacher.


When they said "obviously a major malfunction", though my attention had already tuned out the class by then, and a few people around me knew something was wrong, the teacher was looking at me. Saw the wire, and I don't know what he said, I tuned him out, but I got up and walked out of class, straight to the library, went behind the counter and turned on the TV, with the space shuttle radio still in my hand, listening.


After the bell rang, I went back to get my stuff, and the teacher said he figured out what it was, when he made the connection that I had a shuttle model and the announcement came over the PA a few minutes later, after I think because I had gone in the library and turned it on, interrupting another group in there, who then turned their attention, and someone called the office. 





a2capt

I think I still have the radio someplace. A friend who retired from Honeywell in the Tampa area facilities mentioned some years back about the stuff they got back from NASA afterwards.

When stuff was recovered, it went to the various vendor/contractor who was responsible for it, for determination of failure. Did it have anything to do with it, etc. So when the satellite segments were recovered, it went to them, his team was part of it, and he says he still remembered opening up stuff and ocean water pouring out onto the lab floor. A place that would have typically never seen a spot of moisture.

Tim Medeiros

I was about 4 days old at the time, yet somehow I feel an odd connection to that event.  I can directly relate my interest in space/space exploration to that event.  I don't recall when I learned about it, or how old I was, but I do recall, looking it up in the encyclopedia set my parents had bought me (many times I might add, and before I reached the double digits in age IIRC), and one of the first things I looked up on the internet when we first got it at home was what happened and how it was fixed.

When it comes to Columbia, I was sitting at the visitor center just outside of MacDill AFB waiting for the rest of my drill team to show up so we could go shopping for uniforms at the Military Clothing Sales Store, so we had fresh ones for the competition a month or two later.  When I heard, my mind instantly went back to all I had read and seen about Challenger and wondered what had gone wrong.
TIMOTHY R. MEDEIROS, Lt Col, CAP
Chair, National IT Functional User Group
1577/2811

AlphaSigOU

Just went into work at the 'Mosel Disposal' - ahem - the Mosel Dining Hall for the 12-hour night shift. About 6:15 pm (German time) one of the guys from the just-relieved day shift rushes into the kitchen and tells us that 'the space shuttle blew up!'. Spent the rest of the evening listening to AFN and Radio Luxembourg as the tragedy unfolded. I got the early out that night at 2:00 am and went back to the barracks to watch the evening news coverage on AFN TV.

I actually heard the sonic boom as Columbia broke up just south of Dallas, even from the northern suburbs (I was living in Plano at the time).
Lt Col Charles E. (Chuck) Corway, CAP
Gill Robb Wilson Award (#2901 - 2011)
Amelia Earhart Award (#1257 - 1982) - C/Major (retired)
Billy Mitchell Award (#2375 - 1981)
Administrative/Personnel/Professional Development Officer
Nellis Composite Squadron (PCR-NV-069)
KJ6GHO - NAR 45040

SilverEagle2

Little known piece related to the Challenger http://thechallengerflagstory.tumblr.com/



Front row, furthest right scout...yours truly.



Same position.

I carried that same flag in my Eagle Court of Honor after which it was sent to Smithsonian for display.

Needless to say, changed my life.
     Jason R. Hess, Col, CAP
Commander, Rocky Mountain Region

"People are not excellent because they achieve great things;
they achieve great things because they choose to be excellent."
Gerald G. Probst,
Beloved Grandfather, WWII B-24 Pilot, Successful Businessman

Brad

With regards to Columbia, I have a rather interesting story myself.

My aunt had given me this print called "Cape Winds"



I thought nothing particular of it at the time, as it was before the incident. I simply put the print in the top right corner of the mirror attached to my dresser, using the mirror's frame to hold it in place.

The day of the incident I was in NJROTC in my junior year in high school. It was a Saturday, and we were out at an Academic Team competition, where I served as the team commander. While we were there, our SNSI pulled us aside during a break and sat us down and told us what had happened. We were all shocked at what had happened, but we still managed to put it aside for the time being and finish the competition. I forget what we finished at.

When I got home, I looked over to the mirror and noticed the print had fallen down onto the dresser. It would never stay put for long after that day.
Brad Lee
Maj, CAP
Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications
Mid-Atlantic Region
K4RMN