Comments | m4dh4tt3r: 22 Years Ago Today

m4dh4tt3r

22 Years Ago Today

Jan 28, 2008 14:00

January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just over a minute after launch, killing seven astronauts.I was in eighth grade and an avid space travel and exploration enthusiast. I had been to Space Camp in 1984 (I was selected Commander of my team) and had been studying space flight for as long as I could remember. It was my dream to be an ( Read more... )

astronauts, aerospace, challenger, feynman, spaceflight

Comments 15

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m4dh4tt3r January 28 2008, 23:39:15 UTC

i wonder how many other dreams died that year . . .

lemasquegris January 28 2008, 23:02:39 UTC

I was a Mission Specialist when I went to Huntsville. The space program and everything involved, to me at least, symbolizes the ultimate in puzzle solving. To put it simply: how do we make this shit work? Not just in space, but anywhere.

m4dh4tt3r January 28 2008, 23:41:33 UTC

i agree on the puzzle solving aspect, but i also see it as a challenge to the human spirit. the desire for exploration and discovery seem to be in my blood. i don't know where it comes from. as far as i know, i don't have any explorers in my blood lines.

aergern January 28 2008, 23:20:29 UTC

I remember this quite vividly. I was 17 at the time and we had a t.v. in the class room watching it when it happened.

m4dh4tt3r January 28 2008, 23:42:49 UTC

i remember it like it was yesterday. i remember how i felt. i remember crying. i created a piece of art as a memorial to the astronauts. i still have it.

noveldevice January 29 2008, 00:42:07 UTC

I was in fifth grade; my teacher, Mrs Eisinger, had been so incredibly excited about Challenger and the teachers in space project that she had reserved one of the school televisions and invited the other fifth-grade class to sit with us to watch the launch.

One of those things you don't forget.

ninarawkstah January 29 2008, 01:23:12 UTC

I remember watching this on TV at school.
what a weird moment. and how quick the astronaut got 86'd from MTV...

m4dh4tt3r January 29 2008, 01:32:08 UTC

i hadn't even noticed the 86'ing of the astronaut on MTV. that's lame. it makes me wonder if our country has the emotional fortitude and courage to truly engage in manned spaceflight. people are going to die. it's a fact. that's not to say we shouldn't honor the heroes and heroines that have given their lives for progress, but we need to be willing to accept that death is part of the equation.

ninarawkstah January 29 2008, 01:33:43 UTC

[that's not to say we shouldn't honor the heroes and heroines that have given their lives for progress, but we need to be willing to accept that death is part of the equation.]

Word.

m4dh4tt3r January 29 2008, 01:37:16 UTC

i should add to that:

that's not to say we shouldn't honor the heroes and heroines that have given their lives for progress, but we need to be willing to accept that death is part of the equation. they have.

Wow. tristan_crane January 29 2008, 03:04:31 UTC

I always wanted to go to spacecamp.. lucky! I too remember the day of the explosion, we were watching it in my classroom and my teacher freaked out. 'I don't think that was supposed to happen'. Understatement.