CNN shares what happened on the tragic day the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, including the astronauts' last words, the reaction of people on the ground, and President Ronald Reagan's speech to a grieving nation. When CNN aired the launch of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, no one could have known a catastrophe would unfold live on television. Watch to find out how the events of that day changed the course of human space flight. #CNN #News
I was in high school and watched this footage so much that its etched in my mind. Its still painful to watch.
https://youtu.be/6wdAJ4gVggE
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I remember this day-the whole world was shocked.
https://youtu.be/6wdAJ4gVggE
I was a sophomore in high school at Science and Engineering Magnet. We saw this live. Will never forget this. Still shook by this.
https://youtu.be/6wdAJ4gVggE
My 2nd grade teacher was beside herself. Trying her best to hold back tears, but she couldn’t. They were so proud of Christa McAuliffe. This tragedy will always remain a part of my childhood memories.
👍👍👍👍
I was also in 2nd grade, my teacher was distraught but calmed us down; definitely an early tragic memory, learning moment.
老實說，我們都記得這個視頻：-
https://youtu.be/pXbBA_yEwQE
Do you know – the teacher who was on-board – brought a Kermit the Frog from her class – That frog was found floating in the debris and recovered.
My son was in the second grade, too. He, along with his classmates had witnessed the disaster and asked me that night “Are they all dead?” I really did not know what to say except to tell him they had “All gone to heaven”.
I remember it like yesterday, still hurts.
What a tragedy! This really breaks our hearts 💔
https://youtu.be/6wdAJ4gVggE
A tragic sight etched in mind & heart, never will be forgotten.
I live in Florida and did so when the Challenger exploded. It was so surreal to be able to see the trail in the sky for hours later. I’ll never forget it 💔
https://youtu.be/6wdAJ4gVggE
Yes was raining down debris .
I’ll never forget where I was that day. Still saddens me. It always will.
I was in Hook’s Dug store on Market St when I heard the news. I will never forget where I was on that tragic day.
I was a newborn when this happened, but that’s how 9/11 is for me. Even 20+ years later I remember that day in high school clear as day.
I was at home in San Diego.. I was calling my husband to remind him about the launching… He was at work at San Diego Naval Hospital.. While waiting for him to come to the phone… The EXPOLSION occurred.. When he picked up I was Crying.. They didn’t have the office TV on yet..The sale of disbelief and heart break that came from the other apartments around me will forever be one of the most heart wrenching sounds I ever heard and had hoped to never hear again… Then 911 happened.
I was living in Titusville Fla and was watching this launch in person when this horrifying incident happened!
Titusville is basically swimming distance from the Cape. I grew up experiencing every single one of the Space Shuttle launches. I was in High School this day. We were ALWAYS released from classes to watch the launches. Hundreds of people would come to our little tiny town from all over the USA to watch these launches. Sleeping in cars, trucks, campers etc all up and down US A1A, the main road running through our town alongside the river to watch this launch and all prior 24 launches.
As Locals we always watched, we knew what to expect but every launch was always exciting. Therefore we knew in a split second what had happened. Shock, screams, tears and running for the phones and pay phones. 80% of our towns population worked for NASA out on Cape Canaveral and were on staff that day as NASA employees or contracted positions etc all over the Cape! There was sheer terror not knowing if the Cape was effected by falling debris, if there was additional explosions or fires from debris etc.
The run for the phones was fruitless because the Government/NASA instantly within seconds of the explosion had shut down ALL phone lines throughout the town! All contact with one another and with the Cape had been cut!
It was hours and hours before so many of us knew weather our families, friends and loved ones were alive or unhurt. Unlike today we didn’t have youtube or Google or online news to get information. Except for the CNN live footage being played over and over on the local news channels the public, our town, knew NOTHING!
It was sheer terror for hours and hours and mourning for weeks.
Our town was so closely enmeshed with NASA we ALL mourned! Watching this tonight… It’s as if I’m there standing watching in person all over again with tears streaking my face.
We cry with you, believe me. I don’t know if I went silent when I saw it on TV (watched it live as alost everyone did) or screamed out in horror. I imagine the last. I’ll never know though.
I’ve looked for years for books on what happened inside the shuttle, how much the astronauts knew of their plight… I’ve heard that a few were killed outright. Does anyone know?
Oh man that’s so sad when the Challenger exploded. I watched the documentary on the nasa space shuttle program it included the Challenger explosion and the saddest part of it is the darkest day of NASA’s space missions repeated itself in 2003 with Space Shuttle Columbia exploded during its return to earth.
I was in second grade and we watched it happen live. However, it wasn’t until this year I found out that the astronauts didn’t die in the initial explosion and lived until the crew module hit the ocean. Far more horrible than I thought. RIP to all of them.
the disintegration looked very dramatic, but was not a forceful explosion, so the crew module emerged very intact, and the astronauts would not have experienced a deadly amount of force while in the air. however it’s possible that the crew module experienced loss of pressure, which at the high altitude could have quickly led to unconsciousness. some but not all of the crew’s emergency oxygen packs were activated. whether any astronauts were conscious at the time of impact with the ocean, we may never know for sure
@sean h Yeah, the article I read suggested that most, if not all of them were probably unconscious. I believe at least one of them drowned instead of being killed by blunt force trauma but it’s unknown if they were awake for that. Hopefully not.
@Roscoe.P ColdChain It was the Space Shuttle, which was designed to land like a airplane, so no parachutes. They would not have helped anyway.
@Roscoe.P ColdChain they died from blunt force trauma when the crew module hit the water. The forces involved would have killed them instantly at that point, unfortunately they were likely awake and aware for the two minutes it took the module to hit the ocean.
@C. L-M look up Dr. Story Musgrave – he’s a medical doctor and surgeon for NASA states that they know for a fact, without dispute, from the examination of the bodies, wreckage and flight data, that the crew were alive and likely conscious before they hit the water. It’s awful to consider, but it is true. As someone who has been quite close to death, I can tell you that when death presents itself as imminent, the body will flood with chemicals to ease the impact of the inevitable upon the mind and body. Sweet chemical mercy.
I was in tears when i heard that the crew was still alive screaming and praying as the cockpit had separated from the shuttle as it went down.Then total silence…💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
all they know is that some of the emergency oxygen packs were activated, but the crew may have quickly lost consciousness if crew module pressure was lost
The calmness of both the reporter and mission control was eerie
I remember watching this live from my kindergarten classroom that day and we were all in shock. Even at such a young age I still remember like it was yesterday. Such a sad day for not only the country but the entire globe 😢
老實說，我們都記得這個視頻：-
https://youtu.be/pXbBA_yEwQE
I clearly remember that day. I was living in the Southern hemisphere and left my office early. Drove to pick up my 3 year old daughter and drive home. We dashed into the house & switched on the TV, just in time. I watched the take-off and wished I was the invited person aboard. I froze as it broke up. It was such an exciting mission because of the lovely teacher on board. Such a sad day.
I remember standing outside on a cold Florida day in Cape View Elementary, Cape Canaveral. I didn’t understand what happened since was 7yr old. My teacher didn’t tell us what happened. I actually didn’t find out until my older sister explained it to me on the bus on the way home from school. This crushed my family for a long time since my Mom was with many of the friends and family members at the time.
I remember just getting on the highway and I turned on KYW from Philadelphia for the traffic report. I really could not believe what was being reported. It was a clear, crisp and quite cold day in the northern Philadelphia suburbs that day. Many times when I enter the highway there, the memories of this day enter my mind. May the astronauts rest in peace.
I couldn’t believe it when it happened.
I wasn’t even born when this happened, but I can’t help but cry watching the footage. Tragedy is the only way I can describe it. May they all rest in peace
老實說，我們都記得這個視頻：-
https://youtu.be/jObqkMS38UQ
This is absolutely sad. I wasn’t born yet and I can’t imagine what it’s like to watch a family member who was going to be in space pass away. RIP to all 7 people who were on that shuttle. This was so horrifying to watch. No one expected this to happen. 😢🙏🏻