Shocking Facts About the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

Every American who lived through the '80s remembers the Challenger explosion. But what happened to cause the famous national tragedy? How could such a catastrophe happen when NASA so meticulously checks and double checks all the equipment at their disposal?

Even with all the risks, astronauts gladly put their lives on the line for decades in the pursuit of reaching for the stars. The Challenger tragedy was not the first or the last catastrophe to befall NASA. The exploratory organization has not forgotten the sacrifices of the seven crewmembers who died on January 28, 1986: Francis "Dick" Scobee, Mike Smith, Judy Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ron McNair, Greg Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

#SpaceshuttleChallenger #NASA #WeirdHistory

[swagalicious]

if the guys who built it say its going to blow up, ITS GOING TO BLOW UP!!!

[shakes]

We watched this live in middle school. One girl realized what happened before anyone else and was hysterical. We didn't find out until later her mother was a finalist in the teachers in space program.

[carriekoehler]

My mom was a finalist for the challenger. I was a senior in high school at the time. I thank God every day that she wasn't chosen.

[michelleb]

For those who weren’t around, the Teacher In Space initiate was HUGE. My uncle (an elementary teacher) and several teachers I knew applied to be in this. It was a really big deal. Christa McAuliffe became a household name. EVERYONE anticipated this and many, many schools halted everything else to show this live. It was truly a national tragedy. For us young Gen X’er, it was the first shared tragedy we knew.

[bobthompson]

The most shocking thing about this is that the engineers who built and tested the boosters said that it would happen

[princesse]

Whoever decided to ignore the engineers and go on even though they were warned about the shuttle exploding should have been charged with 3rd degree murder.
They basically sent those astronauts to their deaths.

[twosocks]

No one should ever be able to “overrule”engineers.

[MrDarkmarius]

I remember the space shuttle disaster like it was yesterday. I was 17 years old & working as a phone solicitor selling carpet cleaning service. Our office was very busy calling countless people about carpet cleaning when all of a sudden, our office manager got a phone call from our company's owners to immediately stop calling people. Our office manager yelled for all of us to stop calling people & for those of us who were on the phone with customers to apologize for interrupting them & to let them go. Then with a very shaky voice, our office manager said, "The space shuttle Challenger has just exploded!!! Please join me in prayer to help all those involved to be ok!!!" Then our office manager started praying as his voice became more shaky. It was very serious & very touching. All of us were totally shocked

[Vinsternator]

Some teachers wanted to turn the tv’s off. But I remember distinctly a teacher stopping them saying “this is history in the the making, don’t stop them from being part of it.”

[myjournee]

I was in the second grade watching live in school.... I remember vividly my teacher bursting into tears. I will never forget that day...

[will.a.benjamin]

So sad to think of how easily it could have been avoided. All they had to do was wait for warmer weather.

[Dulcimerist]

I watched this happen live, and it's one of those events that you remember exactly where you were when it happened.
Sadly, most people seem to only know Christa McAuliffe's name, but forget about the others who perished in this tragedy.

[Superduper]

I was at work when one guy yelled in shock, “the Challenger blew up!” Never will forget the shock of that moment. It was only surpassed by 9/11.

[wzvy]

"So basically there's a timeline not far from ours where big bird is one of the casualties on the space shuttle challenger disaster"
-Sam o' Nella, 2018

[jusnuts]

I was a senior in high school when this happened. I was in English class. Our teacher wheeled in a TV on a cart and said "Forget the lesson plan! Watch! This is history." God rest her soul. She past away recently. She was such a good teacher! And a loving person.

[judybrady]

I was a stay at home mom. My kids were down for a nap and I decided to start knitting a scarf when my husband called and told me to put on the television. It was a total gut wrenching feeling to see those onlookers looking up in total shock. In 1997 we took a trip to see the launch pad. I will never forget that day. R.I.P challenger crew.

[detective___mcnulty]

Some of Christa's students became teachers in honor of her.

[Metonymy]

I remember that because my Dad was so excited that a teacher(like him) was going into space. Everyone was quiet. The teacher just sat there, hands to face. It felt like forever. Then we all went home early. My dad has a vanity license plate in dedication to the Challenger.

[presidentskroob]

'Sadly, the engineers were overruled by their managers'

Unfortunately, this probably applies to countless accidents / deaths

[torifair]

I remember vividly the exact moment. I was a junior in college, studying all year in Florence, Italy. I saw pictures of the explosion on the newspapers outside the stores when I was walking to school. It was surreal because my friends in the market and the coffee shop gave me their condolences. As an American. I felt very homesick.