January 26, 1986 11:39 AM...

[txradioguy]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE[/youtube]

"The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

- President Ronald Reagan, January 28, 1986

[tac]

A very sad day.

[IassaFTots]

I remember exactly where I was, what I was wearing and what I was doing.  So very sad.

[txradioguy]

I remember exactly where I was, what I was wearing and what I was doing.  So very sad.

Same here.  that was my Jr. year in high school.  I'd just come back from lunch when I heard about it.

[Eupher]

This is one of those unforgettable moments on par with JFK's assassination and the landing on the moon.

Oh, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[IassaFTots]

Same here.  that was my Jr. year in high school.  I'd just come back from lunch when I heard about it.

I was a Sr that year, and was watching it live in the library.

[Maxiest]

Well I was only in Elemtary school, and I think we were watching it.

[debk]

I was getting ready to go to work, and decided to watch it since I couldn't remember the last one I had watched.

When it exploded, I really didn't know what exactly had happened. It was one of those things, like watching the 2nd plane fly into the 2nd tower...I'm seeing this but it's not registering what is really happening, because it is so horrific.

[dixierose]

I was a Sr that year, and was watching it live in the library.

Same here...except I was  Jr at the time. I had always wanted to go up in the shuttle; and that didn't change my mind. I would still love a trip into space.

[BlueStateSaint]

I was a senior in college, and I was over at the campus bookstore at the time.  One of the workers came out of the back room and announced, "The space shuttle just blew up."  I left immediately and went over to my dorm, about 100 yards away.  I walked into the dorm and the TV lounge was off to the left--there was a dining hall straight ahead.  I took the left and walked near the lounge--there were 50 to 60 people into a space that normally would have 20 on a good night.  The replay went for the first time . . . and the audible gasp was big.  Some of the women started to cry.  It was mind-boggling. 

[chitownchica]

I was a Sr that year, and was watching it live in the library.

Same here, except I was watching it in my government class. 

[USA4ME]

I was managing a store at a mall in Tampa and just a couple of doors down was the main opening to Sears.  They were having a TV promotion that week and I started noting people gathering around the TV sets.  When someone came in my store I asked what was going on and was told what had happened.  Had several of my employees who were just arriving to work say you could see the smoke trail and where it separated into two different smoke trails from outside, which wasn't that unusual since Tampa is only about 100 miles from the Cape.  I never got a chance to go out and look.

.

[wasp69]

I remember exactly where I was, what I was wearing and what I was doing.  So very sad.

Same here.

[wasp69]

Same here.  that was my Jr. year in high school.  I'd just come back from lunch when I heard about it.

Damn!  Same here!   

[Eupher]

I was in a Berlin Kneipe (local neighborhood bar) when it came up on the TV. A bunch of us were solving the problems of the world while perusing the bottom of a Löwenbräu glass. (Yeah, it was odd having a Bavarian beer in Berlin, but I ran with it.)

For the rest of the night, we could not buy a thing. There was a lot of expressed sympathy and collective shock.

[Airwolf]

I was pulling CQ duty that day for my Unit ,C Co. 3rd BN 187th Inf at Ft Campbell, KY. I was at the desk near the door when two of my friends were coming down the hall from Bravo Company and told me they had heard what happened. I thought they were pulling my chain even after I went to the day room next door across the hall from the desk to see if the news had anything on it. Nothing was on till about 1-2pm that day and they didn't have much to say. When they finally showed the film of it then it truly sank in that 7 people died and as it turned out it could have been prevented. That I think was the worse part of it.

[Jasonw560]

I was a Sophomore in HS. Right before lunch.

We learned about it over the PA system. It was about 5 minutes before lunch, and I ran home to watch the reports on TV.

[Chris_]

^{I was in the sixth grade.}

They brought TVs in to the classroom so we could watch it, but I think it was optional (for some reason, I don't remember seeing it live... I may have opted out so I could study and do my homework).

[vesta111]

Damn!  Same here!   

Darn this was the second time I had one of my kids come to tell me of a disaster from NASA.   First was my 3 year old comming to tell me about the fire that took the lives of the --as she called them, the Space Men, in the mid 60's.

This second one in the 80's was a horror show, Christie was Our Girl from NH and when the kids came charging in from school yelling, and I turned on the TV the first pictures we saw were of the faces of her parents, we all started crying even both of my boys.    

[cavegal]

I was at a friends house whose mother could not stand me.(she had a valid point, I was a real wild child in those days) I really never went in the house when her mom was around. I was outside and my friend came out yelling..the shuttle just blew up.  I ran in the house and watched it on TV. Her mom standing right next to me. We all were crying.

[Ptarmigan]

The Challenger Disaster was a very tragic period when it occurred. Many children saw it live.

Challenger Explosion Was Country's First Endeavor in Comforting Grieving Children
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/press-past/2013/01/28/challenger-explosion-was-countrys-first-endeavor-in-comforting-grieving-children

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7icmqgsow&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[A7X_foREVer]

I wasn't even born yet when it happened

[J P Sousa]

It was my day off and I watched live.

I remember everyone saying that the command capsule had separated from the rest of the ship so I naturally thought why not have a parachute attached for just such an event. Someone on TV said it would have been fruitless since they would have been killed instantly from the shock waves. I never studied explosives so I just could not comprehend that happening. Shrug.
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