Hard to believe it's been 25 years

[eknuds01]

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2011-01-26-1Achallenger26_CV_N.htm

A fascinating, and tragic event, that shaped NASA. I was just a few years old when this happened, but I studied this failure in college and then went on to receive 2 graduate degrees sponsored by NASA.

 

[twich54]

Erik,
I remember as if it were yesterday sitting in my office listening to that ill-fated launch on my radio, the empty feeling I got was a total reversal of what I experienced in '69 watching us walk on the moon.

 

[Tube60]

I watched it live on TV.
One of the few times in my life I saw my father cry. He was a subcontractor on the Shuttle design (landing gear) and did a lot of work with the program. That week at work he found out through his buddy network that engineers had been swamping NASA with calls not to launch that morning, and when their cries fell on deaf ears, many of them told their friends "If you want to watch a shuttle blow up turn on the TV." ..... they were that sure of what would happen. Loudest of all were Morton Thiokol engineers and company reps. Delaying the launch by four to six hours would've made all the difference.

 

[Satch]

I was on Ascension Island, a missile tracking station in the South Atlantic, when that happened. Jeeze, I was still in my 20's. A group of people that worked for NASA were supposed to be transferred back to the States when the satellite that was on the Challenger was deployed. They stayed for the three years that I was there.