20 years later...

[G.T.]

Those of us old enough to remember it won't forget it. Challenger's last flight...

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/co...allenger_20th/

[Kodo]

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in 5th grade. My best friend , my Science teacher (Mr.Brockway ..wow, I can't believe I remember that) and myself went outside to lower the flag. It was truly a sad day indeed.

[star17]

Not the happiest week to be at the space center. Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, the Challenger 20th anniversary of today, and February 1st will mark the third anniversary of Columbia. I wasn't at NASA for the first two events, but I still to this day have nightmares about the third.

[DavidGP]

A day to remember the brave souls that are pushing the envelope of science...they will never be forgoten

[martinch]

was in the carpenter bussiness at the time and was sitting on a sawhorse listening to Paul Harvey like we did every morning for a coffee break and heard it on the radio, they broke in with a special announcement. Just like yesterday. ::

[Publius]

I will never forget where I was on that day... My twin brother and I were in Mrs Dixon's 3rd grade classroom. Our school was one of the few that had a live feed of the shuttle launch and our teacher had made a great deal of Christa McAuliffe being the first teacher in space. There weren't many TVs in classrooms then, so classes were combined so everyone could see the event. We probably had 3 other classes in there with us watching the event live. It is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood.

Originally Posted by Ronald Reagan

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

So, where was everyone else when this happened?

[rogvalcox]

I remember I was in 6th grade (my teacher was Mr. Calvert) and I remember the principle coming in and whispering in his ear...right in the middle of math lesson, and he left with her and then came back with a TV and turned it on!!

Being in 6th grade I didn't REALLY truly understand the significance of it, but for some reason it stuck with me!! I guess because it was definately an unfortunate circumstance for ALL!!

What's funny though...(or I don't guess it's really funny)but...I remember mom and dad always talking about how Singnificant things (like the Keneddy assassination) always stick in your head, and you remember exactly what you were doing at that moment, and that one was probably the first major incident of my lifetime, little did I know it would be followed by the Oklahoma City bombing, and then ofcourse, 9/11...and the most ironic thing for me is that my birthday...................9/11

But I also remember my dad always saying that the shuttle incident wouldn't have been that big of a deal if they hadn't have had that d**n civilian/teacher aboard (his words!!), and I still say.....BS....It still sucks, I don't care if it was BJ and the Bear or the President of the United States!!!!!!!

Roger

[Phantom]

I was still in Stockholm when the Challenger disaster happened. Like a lot of people, it hit home hard, because we had got so used to successful missions. Even Apollo 13 was a success, in terms of saving human life. I was very young when they had the Apollo 1 fire, so that seemed pretty distant.

Then came Columbia. I remember how equally shocked and horrified we were. I also remember how devastated Chris was, and I know the nightmares are far from gone.

People tend to forget that no matter how professional and experienced people are, that space endeavours and exploration is still a maximum risk undertaking, and that the people that partake are heroes, in every sense of the term, just as much as any hero in any war. And like military heroes, some do pay the ultimate price. I’m no stranger to death and seeing friends die either, and you're right it never really leaves our minds, or spirit.

Chris, I do know it's been an exhausting time for you especially of late, both physically and emotionally, but you know as well, if not better that I, that it is indeed for a greater cause. The cause of not just scientific knowledge, but a necessary step in the evolution of mankind.

Yep, I still remember some of the P.M.'s you sent me at the time. For what it's worth, I think of you, and what you go though often.

Take care – Carry on.