It’s been across social media and the news, and those of us who are old enough remember what today is. It is the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy. I was ten when this event occurred. I still remember it clearly. I had faked being sick so I could stay home and watch it on TV. I had done this before when a shuttle was returning because we lived in California and on the other side of the mountain was Edwards Air Force Base. You could hear the sonic boom from its reentering the atmosphere. I was excited to watch one go up on television.
I watched TV as many did, anxiously waiting through the two-hour delay. I kept busy with cereal and my Smurfs 33LP playing in the background. Then the moment came, the countdown, the launch—then the unthinkable. I had never seen a launch live before, so I didn’t really know what was happening. The two boosters split and went in different directions, thinking that they were just separation. I thought it was kinda cool, but when I noticed the explosion, I knew something wrong had happened.
I don’t really remember what the television broadcasters were saying, but I do remember the word ‘failure’ from launch control. The rest was somewhat of a blur. I remember the TV broadcast in snippets. From images of pieces of the shuttle hitting the ocean to wordless images of launch control on the screen.
I’m not sure if I called my mom or got emotional like so many on the screen were doing. I don’t even remember going to school the next day and discussing it. But I know so many like me have memories of being at school around a TV brought into the classroom. Had I known they were bringing a TV to watch, maybe my decision to stay home would’ve been different.
What are your memories of that day?
The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-51-L pose for their official portrait on November 15, 1985. In the back row from left to right: Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judy Resnik. In the front row from left to right: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.
Moments for the Heart 