Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/flight-sky-earth-space-2159/
I grew up at a time when the words Columbia, Discovery, Challenger, and Endeavor all had very special meaning to an American school kid. They were a part of the U.S. Space Program - the Shuttles! High tech rockets that blasted off into space and then re-entered Earth's atmosphere more like an airplane and came gliding to a landing on airstrips - or even in the desert!
The explosion just 23 seconds after take off of the space shuttle Challenger is the very first "where were you when" moment that I remember in my life. On January 28, 1986 I was sitting in Mrs. Huffman's sixth grade classroom. We all knew the shuttle was taking off that day because there was a teacher on that flight - Christa McAuliffe. It had been all over the news and, at that time I wanted nothing more to be a teacher who went into space later on in my life. I loved science and math and if Christa McAuliffe could do it - so could I.
It was crazy cold in Indiana on that day - and as a kid who didn't necessarily understand American geography all that well, I wondered if the Space Shuttle would have trouble with all the cold. (Little did I know that despite vast temperature differences between Indiana and Florida - the cold would play a role that day.) Because it was so cold, we were allowed to stay inside from recess and Mrs. Huffman even let those of us that wanted to stay in the classroom to watch the launch on television while we ate our lunch.
As that small group of us sat there watching the unbelievable happened. Just 23 seconds after takeoff Challenger exploded from her center out and smoke trails went off in multiple directions. I remember Mrs. Huffman running up to turn off the television - but it was too late. We knew what had happened - and what it probably meant.
That afternoon we didn't get much work done - Mrs. Huffman trying gently but also not directly to answer the myriad of questions that sixth grades have - many of whom were grappling with death for the first time. I think Mrs. Huffman sent a letter home with us to our parents saying we'd been watching the launch when the explosion happened. I remember insisting that we watch the news in the living room while eating dinner rather than eating at the kitchen table as we normally did.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/aircraft-astronaut-business-dusk-355906/
We went for so many years that shuttle missions became routine and then the unthinkable happened again.
This time, I was driving through my former hometown of Lakeland, Florida. I was in Florida just a couple of days ahead of my doctoral residence program and had returned to Lakeland where I'd started my career as a mathematics teacher. Instead of becoming a teacher in space, I was a community college educator by this time and was earning a doctorate in higher education leadership.
I had the radio on listening to music when news broke in - they had lost contact with the crew of Columbia as she'd re-entered the atmosphere. While not definite at the time, the fear was catastrophic failure and that the crew had been lost.
By this point in my life, I'd seen my share of "where were you when" moments. Princess Diana's death and the September 11 attacks are two that quickly rise to memory. Even some happened before the first shuttle exploded - I remember learning when President Reagan got shot and I remember watching the Berlin Wall being brought down. Yet, it's these two moments - a sort of beginning and end to the American Space Shuttle era - that stand apart in my memory. I imagine this is in large part because I grew up with this program. The shuttle program started in early 1972 - I'm just a little younger than that program. The first flight was just after I started my school age years (April 12, 1981). The last flight in August of 2011 coincided with the end of an era of my career as well.
Photo by Terence Burke on Unsplash
I've had the chance to see a shuttle up close as the retired shuttles flew like passengers taking a piggy back ride on an airplane to retirement homes for shuttles - museums across the U.S. And, I watch with excitement as NASA works with private industry on the commercial crew initiative to put Americans back into space under our own power for the foreseeable future.
This post is in response to the Blog of the Month (#bom) prompt in the Silver Bloggers' Community. You can read that prompt here: https://ecency.com/hive-106316/@hive-106316/blog-of-the-month-new-theme-for-tuesday-20-september
Following NASA over the years, some tragic ending yet also glorious wins, life events we witness definitely alter our personal direction in life. Most interesting to read how very much more this would affect you being close to home.
I have a vague memory of that television broadcast since there were many launches that I saw, but I do remember that something exploded in the middle of the transmission and then they removed it. Thank you for reminding us of that day and it's good that you didn't keep thinking about being an astronaut @iwannabeme
As someone who suffers terribly with motion sickness, even if I'd wanted to be an astronaut, I never would have made it through the training.
@iwannabeme I would love to be able to see a shuttle up close, I haven't had that privilege yet.
Hello @iwannabeme
This is @tengolotodo and I'm part of the Silver Bloggers’ Community Team.
Thank you for sharing your excellent post in the Silver Bloggers community! As a special "token" of appreciation for this contribution to our community, it has been upvoted, reblogged and curated.
Thank you - it was your post about this prompt that made me publish!
You witnessed something historical at a young age and you're so fortunate to have seen a shuttle that close.