Where were you when the Space Shuttle exploded on 1/28/86?
 

Where were you when the space shuttle blew up on January 28th, 1986?

I was a freshman in college. I went into the common room in the dorms and it was on TV. A future sorority sister of mine has Kristen McAuliff for a high school teacher. I remember her telling me that. Somebody offered her $500 for her high school yearbook. I wasn't in a sorority yet. Our colony was formed the following semester. It was a very sad time.

Denise

I was in school -- first grade.....our class didn't watch it. I don't think I found out until I came home, and even then I don't think I fully understood what happened.

It wasn't until years later, as an adult, when I watched a documentary about it, which showed the unedited footage, that I truly internalized everything.

I had just walked into Spanish class when our principal announced it over the P.A. I remember my teacher cancelled the lesson for the day, and turned the radio on so we could listen to the news reports. Very sad day.

I was in high school. A friend and I were going to my locker to drop off my books so we could go to lunch when our band director stopped us in the hallway to let us know the news. We were just stunned. Instead of going to lunch we spent the rest of the time talking about it and our own mortality in the band room. :(

Second grade. We were watching it on tv because a teacher was on the shuttle. I remember one of the teachers blurted out oh sh*t then ran to turn the tv off. The spent the rest of the day tring to calm down the kids.

I was in Japan. If I remember correctly, the explosion happened late at night Japanese time. I remember waking up in the morning and my dad telling me about what had happened. I was 4 so I didn't really understand.

I was teaching high school and between classes I was standing in the hall and a collegue informed me about the Shuttle. I taught 11th grade history and was able to get a TV in my classroom for the remainder of the day.

I was in Mrs. Delk's third grade class, and we did watch it. I'll never forget it.

I was a junior in college and working at the campus switchboard. I'd been in class all day and went straight to work from class. One of my coworkers at the switchboard had just started her pre-student teaching and was at school with the kids watching it on TV when it happened. She was at work and was really shook up. The kids had been really upset. So, she's the one who told me and we worked all evening, with me trying to keep her mind on other things.

I was 4 and I was at my grandparents house. My Gramps's brother worked for NASA at the time. And had even called us the day before to tell us how nice some of the crew were. And that he had to help Kristie pick and choose which things she wanted to take up to space with her,b/c her students had sent too much.

I was 4 so I really didnt' understand what was happening. But when the explosion happened I remember asking my mom what just happened. I was really confused.

I drew a picture of it exploding right after it happned. :(

In Hawaii. I was a young pup. 3 years old. I was probably asleep.

I was in 5th grade and my class was in the library. The principal came in, walked up to my teacher and said, "Where's the TV? The Challenger exploded." I thought he was referring to another TV - like they named their stock or something? :o

Then I realized what he was really talking about and I started to tell the other kids in my class. My teacher was the best science teacher in the district, so in a sad way we were lucky because they took a TV to our classroom and we got to watch all the news reports. No one else in the school got to do that.

You and I are the same age? Why did I always think you were older? ;)

Anyway, normally I would have been in the cafeteria for Morning Care as both my parents had to be in to work early.

Because it was a special morning, the teachers all got to school early so everyone could watch TV. It was around 6:30 AM, I believe. After it happened, Miss Chang, my first grade teacher, left the room crying.

The entire student body held mass in the Co-Cathedral that morning. After that, whoever wanted to go home could go home as the Principal cancelled school that day.

I dont remember where I was, but know when I saw it, it was one of the Saddest Times of My Life.

We became so complacent about These Big Machines going up into the Air and really thought nothing about it.:(

It happened!

But, please Remember, this is still an experiment as to this day We still only know so little.

Some of the greatest Minds work there, but if it wasnt for Budget Constraints and Polotics Maybe there would be less Problems.

Of Course, We as Private Citizens can only afford so much for so long.

8th Grade @ McKinley Middle Magnet. I believe I was in my science class.

I was just going on duty on the night shift at the chow hall at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany when one of the guys from the dayshift we just relieved ran back into the kitchen and told us the news. We spent much of the rest of the night listening to Armed Forces Radio and the German-language RTL (Radio-TV-Luxembourg, for the benefit of the German civilian KPs) as the drama unfolded.

Walking into the library, getting ready to teach ESOL class. Just as I was walking in, the shuttle was blowing apart although we didn't realize what we were seeing at the time.

My dad was doctor to many of the early astronauts and these NASA tragedies have always hit me hard.

I was in fifth grade, religion class - I was attending a Catholic school at the time. An older girl came into the room with a slip of blue paper, and handed it to the teacher. The teacher said, "Bad news always comes on blue paper." Then she unfolded the piece of paper, and told us that the Challenger had just exploded. There was a TV in the classroom, and we spent the rest of the period watching the news coverage and talking about it.

Judith Resnik, who died in the explosion, was an AEPhi.

I was still going to a local JC at the time and it happened to occur during registration time.

I was 6 months old, so I really coulnd't comprehend anything! lol.

But i did watch a documentary on it. For some reason it made me wish that I was old enough to comprehend and just "be in the moment." I dont know, maybe i'm just weird...lol.

9th grade. Home sick. I remember my mouth falling open and how sad I was. I couldn't believe it.

I was at work in the library and the principal called me over the intercom and said "Turn on the tv - there's been a disaster." I had half the school in there within a few minutes.

Little did I know that years later I would receive the same intercom message on Sept. 11.:(

6th grade--- home sick also. I laid in bed all day long and watched the news reports. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

In 7th grade in study hall.

Sophomore in college waiting for the bus.

Fifth grade, in class.

11th grade....in my US History Class watching the explosion on TV.

Freshman in college. Heard about it from someone in the dining hall, hurried up and finished eating - then went back to my dorm room and called my best friend, an engineering major, to tell her. She was so into space stuff, that she had a space shuttle poster in her room - and I remember the two of us skipping the rest of our classes to watch tv in the tv lounge (b/c neither of us had a tv in our rooms) to see news footage. To this day, I can't see those two trails of smoke w/o getting chills......

I was in seventh grade science class, watching the liftoff and saw it live. Shortly after it happened, the principal of my school came over the intercom and announced that the Challenger had just exploded, for anyone who wasn't watching it in class that day.

Back then, it seemed like every third kid had a teacher who was supposed to be Christa McAuliffe's alternate in case she couldn't make the flight.

I was in Houston, Tx in the lobby of a hospital I was dropping off a resume since I was looking for a job. They had the tv on in the lobby.

I thought that Reagan had died until they said it was the Challenger.

Boy, it was really sad around Houston in the following days.

As I said in a thread in "News" I was the Production Manager of an NBC Owned TV station here in Denver. I was in the Chief Engineer's office, next to mine, and the News Operations Manager came in and told us about the explosion.

We spent the rest of the day jockying programming (newscasts), none of which got on the air since NBC stayed with coverage all day and most of the evening.

I was also in first grade. I remember our PE teacher telling us what happened and watching it on TV. It was very sad.

I also remember my uncle giving me a book about the space program that was dedicated to the astronauts who died in the Challenger. He has always been big about NASA. Ironically, we didn't talk about the anniversary Saturday.

I was 3 years and 26 days old. I don't really remember.

I was 4 :( I don't remember it at all, just vaguely knowing something was wrong with the space ship

Junior year in high school, was home sick.

Coincidentally--when the federal bldg in OK was bombed I was also home sick.

9/11? ALSO home sick.

Moral of the story? Never stay home sick.

5th Grade English Class. Was at the teacher's desk turning in my paper when the teacher from across the hall came in to tell her to turn the radio on. After school went to my friend's house and watched it the rest of the day. Mom was out driving around and saw the "clouds", but didn't know til later what it was. Dad was at the Cape covering it for his TV station. He was right next to Kristie's parents. He said they had no idea anything was wrong until about 10-15 minutes later when someone came and got them. People who had seen a live launch before knew something was wrong, but nobody had the heart to say anything.

I was home sick too (light snowy day) the first time the World Trade Center was bombed!

Denise

Unfortunately watching history-making news can be quite devastating. I'm sure there were many children AND adults around the world just in medical shock and hysterics when they saw the Challenger explode, the Pentagon on fire and the WTC being actually hit by the 2nd airplane and then both buildings collapse.

My daughter was in 8th grade in 2001 and the history teacher had turned on the tv because of the WTC news. Suddenly there was a cutaway to the Pentagon in flames and the news following that a plane had hit there. Needless to say she and every other Pentagon child was in hysterics wondering if their dads (or moms) were okay. Our area of Virginia (in fact the whole DC region) has a huge military population.

"History in the making"or not, I don't know if the teachers (not just my daughter's) should have turned on the news to watch tragedy and horror unfold before the children's eyes.

I was in Kindergarten I think....I don't really remember.