By Jaymi Firestone
America’s eyes were glued to the sky on this day 34 years ago. TVs all over the country televised the exciting, live launching of NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986.
Tragically, just 73-seconds after the launch of what was meant to be another step forward in space exploration ended in a giant explosion, killing all 7 crew members on board, including 5 astronauts, a payload specialist, and Christa McAuliffe, a civilian school teacher from New Hampshire who had been selected to fly via NASA’s “Teacher in Space” program.
America watched as the Challenger fell from the sky, piece by piece, shortly before the 12 o’clock lunch hour that day in 1986. Devastatingly stopping time that fateful morning.
According to sources, the disintegration of the the space shuttle began when a joint in one of the solid rocket boosters failed at liftoff. Many say cold temperatures played a part in the failure of the shuttle.
News of the explosion traveled fast.
85% of Americans, whether they had seen the initial launching or not, knew of the devastation within an hour of it happening.
For the 5 NASA astronauts their love of space most likely began at young age. I can only imagine the opportunity to be launched into orbit was a lifelong dream for them. For the Challenger Astronauts, January 28th, 1986 was meant to be the culmination of their lifelong dreams and hard work.
The preparation leading up to a launch includes training in spacecraft propulsion, thermal control and life support systems. In addition, they also are expected to receive training in orbital mechanics, scientific experimentation, earth observation, and astronomy. They also are quarantined prior to takeoff, because even the common cold could be devastating since changes in pressure occur throughout their explorations.
The efforts put in by the astronauts requires years of training and preparation, with knowledge of the risk that is involved, however no expectation of these tragedies happening.
For me, this is a story in history books. I was born less than 2 months after. The impact this event had on the history of our country though, as well as NASA has been incredible.
As I scrolled through Facebook this morning, I was met with pictures of the faces of the 7 crew members who were set to embark on their share of space exploration.
The images I saw online prompted me to ask questions of those in my life who did experience the tragedy. It brought on conversations that stirred even the slightest emotion in me.
A co-worker, who was only 5 at the time, still remembered the “swirly smoke” that she thought looked like Mickey Mouse on the tv. She remembers not understanding why everyone was so sad.
My dad who was in his late 20s, said the memory is engrained in his mind. He had been home that morning, and was getting ready to go to work. When he turned on the TV to check the news before leaving, he was met with the footage being replayed. “It was just devastating to hear that no one survived. It broke my heart. I couldn’t believe what had happened.”
My mom, who was carrying me in her final trimester, was preparing for maternity leave from work, and heard the news on the radio. The hosts shared detail after detail as they received more information, and she remembers being shocked. “I remember being especially devastated about the teacher, Christa McAullife. That was just so sad to me that she was just a guest on that flight.”
A family-friend was actually at Cape Canaveral, where the Kennedy Space Center is located, and experienced the traumatic explosion in person. She was a 15 year old sophomore in high school. Her family took an annual trip to a golf convention in Orlando, which happened to be just shy of an hour drive from Cape Canaveral.
The timing of their trip that year brought them to Florida just in time for the launch. “We were in a public viewing area across the lake from the launch site. When the Challenger took off it was so exciting! All of the smoke billowing and how loud it was.” When the Challenger exploded into two directions, they didn’t realize what happened, since her family hadn’t experienced a launch before. The crowd was excited until someone near them who had headphones on and was listening to a news feed started saying, “oh no…oh no….total loss….total loss.” Panic set in among the viewers, because the explosion seemed violent. They realized something was wrong. “The entire drive back to Orlando in our Station Wagon, we kept looking out the back window at the debris that fell forever. It didn’t seem to stop. It is a day and picture in my memory that I will never forget.”
The experiences everyone shared with me were very different, but all devastating. The stories gave me chills, despite it being a moment in history for me, and the only thing I know to compare it to is the devastation felt on September 11, 2001 when the Twin Towers fell in New York City. That is an experience I had firsthand, and I remember where I was, what I was doing and how I felt.
The way tragedies seem to pause time is inexplainable, and the world seems to stop spinning for a few moments. It’s just a reminder that life is short and devastation happens without notice.
So as this January 28th comes to the end, remember these lost lives, and the sacrifice made for exploration: Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Michael Smith and Ellison Onizuka.
