38 years ago this morning, #NASA Shuttle mission STS-51L launched Challenger at 11:38 AM EST with its crew of seven. 73 seconds later, its external tank failed, causing a rupture that destroyed Challenger and the crew.
This was the local coverage in Los Angeles that night, the 11 PM PST newscast.
This is a documentary about Christa McAuliffe, the "Teacher in Space," lost aboard Challenger 38 years ago today.
Barbara Morgan was the backup to Christa McAuliffe in the Teacher in Space program. Her flight was postponed for years; she finally qualified as a Mission Specialist, but her flight as postponed again by the loss of Columbia in 2003. She finally flew in 2007.
I worked with Barb many times over the years. If you need inspiration, you'll find it in Barb's life story.
This is #CNN live coverage of the STS-51L Challenger launch, January 28, 1986, starting at 11:00 AM EST. If you want to fast-forward to the launch, go to the 11:38 AM mark (0:38 minutes in the video).
@WordsmithFL I still remember where I was, what road i was on. Funny how some things stick.
@Graci I was at work in SoCal, where the time was three hours earlier. A secretary walked in and said "The Space Shuttle blew up on the pad." We turned on the radio, but our boss told us to get back to work. "There are lots of orphans in the world," she said, "They''ll have to learn to get along just like everyone else." We were appalled.
@Graci I later found out her father was a Marine Corps pilot who was killed during practice. Still, it didn't justify what she said. We were all glad when she left for another job elsewhere.