Challenger Anniversary

[CoryDude]

Anyone else remember what they were doing when it exploded 25 years ago?

I was sitting in my 5th grade class getting ready to watch the lift-off. Our teacher had misjudged the launch time by a few minutes so we hadn't gone to the media room in time to see the actual launch. But, I'll always remember another teacher running into our classroom yelling out what had just happened. Ugh, I had nightmares galore that night.

But Reagan's speech that night made me feel better. Especially when he directed a few lines towards kids my age.

Ok, so I don't remember his speech verbatim, but here's a few lines from re-watching it on youtube. I think these words could apply to the uncertainties of today.

"I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave."

[Europhyllia]

Has it really been that long ago?
Kind of weird to think that we were old enough to remember something that happened 25 years ago. Time flies.

I was in Germany. Didn't see it in real time and just saw it on the news with my parents.

[allan]

I was walking into my biology class, 11th grade wearing acid washed jeans with about twenty holes in them and sporting a mullet that even Billy would have envied.

I remember thinking that the accident was going to slow the space program down drastically. I was already chafing at how slow NASA had been progressing since 1972 and the Apollo missions. And sure enough 25 years later and we still haven't done anything outside LEO.

25 years! It sure did creep up on me.

[hobogato]

watched it live on tv in my 6th grade classroom. the teacher was so upset that she left the room and we sat there for a bit in silence.