Challenger Disaster: A Quarter Century Later

It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since that horrible moment in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded less than two minutes after liftoff.

Like the Kennedy assassination or, more recently, the 9/11 Terrorist attacks, everyone alive remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.

Unlike those fateful days in Dallas or New York, millions of people were purposely watching TV to see the launch—waiting to celebrate the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.

I was working in radio at WKSQ, known as Kiss 94.5 in Ellsworth, Maine—doing the midday show as usual—when I looked across through the studio glass and into the news studio, where a TV was monitoring the liftoff. I remember the feeling like I was literally punched in the stomach---a physical feeling that was almost overwhelming as the reality of what transpired began to become apparent. I remember stopping the music and opening the microphone to make the announcement to my listeners who were as yet unaware that anything had gone wrong.

I’ve embedded the ABC news coverage from that day below—and watching it even almost a quarter century later still brings strong emotions to the surface:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhfmDhXhOXw&feature=related

After the tragedy, President Reagan appointed a special commission to investigate the cause of the explosion, a panel that included former astronaut Neil Armstrong and former test pilot Chuck Yeager. The cause was determined to be the “O-ring” seals in one of the two booster rockets.

It was more than 2 years before another Shuttle launch was attempted. Another disaster occurred in 2003, as the Columbia disintegrated upon Earth re-entry, most likely due to wing damage that occurred from a piece of foam (yes, foam-weighing less than 2 pounds but traveling at over 500 mph) during takeoff days earlier.

Unlike the 1960’s, when each NASA launch captivated the nation if not the world, space travel became so commonplace that it failed to hold our attention. Only when tragedies like Challenger and Columbia occur do we realize just how complex it all is….and how extremely dangerous, too.

As a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. That feeling extended into my adulthood—until this day 25 years ago—when being a disc jockey suddenly seemed like a better option. I applaud the courage of those who continue to put their lives on the line—especially when they have explicit evidence of what happens when something goes wrong.

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