January 28th, 1986 - STS-51-L

[PRC]

The Challenger explosion happened on this day in 1986.  I was a young teenager at the time and I remember the mission getting lots of pre-launch hype because of Christa McAuliffe being onboard, and lots of post-launch hype because of the explosion obviously.  We discussed it in class and I remember sitting at home with the family watching Reagan give his tribute speech.  One of the harshest revelations about the event was that the astronauts did not die in the explosion but upon the crew compartment impact with the ocean. 

[The Brain]

Winter/spring of 1986 was a bit harsh. Challenger. Chernobyl. In Sweden the PM was assassinated.

[MadImmortalMan]

This was the first humanity-altering event I remember as a little kid. Had a huge impact.

[The Brain]

This was the first humanity-altering event I remember as a little kid. Had a huge impact.

[MadImmortalMan]

This was the first humanity-altering event I remember as a little kid. Had a huge impact.

Sorry your PM wasn't on my radar when I was five. 

[Monoriu]

I still don't understand why it was such a huge deal though.  Certainly sad, but I don't see the long term consequences. 

[PRC]

I still don't understand why it was such a huge deal though.  Certainly sad, but I don't see the long term consequences. 

I think one of the reasons it resonated was because Christa McAuliffe, just a regular jane non-astronaut was on board.  So it was getting a lot more attention than maybe a regular launch would have.  That resonated with a lot of people.

[MadImmortalMan]

School was cancelled. So big deal. People took it seriously at the time.

[mongers]

IIRC Nasa have recalculated the odds of disaster during the early shuttle missions and it was a one in nine, with the last ones it was still something like a one in 38 chance of disaster.


I don't know how exact these figures are, as I'm recalling what the astronaut Chris Hadfield said, I'd guess the figures are a combination of launch and re-entry risks, by far the most dangerous parts of a mission.

[mongers]

I still don't understand why it was such a huge deal though.  Certainly sad, but I don't see the long term consequences.

Yeah if they'd been putting a a satellite system to monitor and improve the traffic flow on American interstate and urban roads, now that would have been a big deal.

[Monoriu]

School was cancelled. So big deal. People took it seriously at the time.

Columbia wasn't such a big deal?

[crazy canuck]

I was a reminder that going into space is dangerous.  Other than that not much of a lasting consequence.

[Razgovory]

This was the first humanity-altering event I remember as a little kid. Had a huge impact.

Sorry your PM wasn't on my radar when I was five. 

I thought you were older.  I was four at the time.  I remember looking out my bedroom window to see if I could see it.

[DGuller]

I still don't understand why it was such a huge deal though.  Certainly sad, but I don't see the long term consequences. 

I think one of the reasons it resonated was because Christa McAuliffe, just a regular jane non-astronaut was on board.  So it was getting a lot more attention than maybe a regular launch would have.  That resonated with a lot of people.

Another reason is that it was caught perfectly on tape as it happened, so it made it all the more dramatic, complete with the anchors stopping mid-sentence and mission control personnel sitting with their mouths agape.  Back then we didn't have dash cams from Russia to watch disasters unfold many times a day.

[MadImmortalMan]

School was cancelled. So big deal. People took it seriously at the time.

Columbia wasn't such a big deal?

No I don't think so. It sucked, but this one was...how do I say it. The adults around me thought it was huge, so I did too.