Challenger 30 Year Anniversary – Where were you?

I still have vivid memories that day in school.

January 28, 1986. I was 7 years old. I attended Longfellow Grade School in Rock Island, IL. I remember we were upstairs in the first or second classroom on the right-hand side.
There was an old-fashioned TV on a metal cart with wheels, for us to watch. I was so excited to see the Challenger with that lovely teacher in it, take off. I had read one of the layouts about Christa McAuliffe in one of the big, popular magazines of the time.

I remember the pictures of her at home with her children and husband, of her reading a book to her little girl, all snuggly and warm in her mama's lap. I remember crying after seeing the explosion because all I could think of were her children and how that little girl pictured in her mother's lap, would never know the warmth and comfort of that lap, ever again.

Sadly, most were expecting a delay due to the freezing temps that crept in overnight. It turns out the O-ring seals in the shuttle's solid-fuel boosters froze, creating a cascade of catastrophic events.

A cold front had swept across central Florida the night before, dropping temperatures into the teens before slowly creeping back above freezing as the morning wore on. Ice at the launch pad was a major concern, interrupting the countdown for additional inspections and delaying liftoff to later in the morning.

It has stayed with me all these years. Those images, the images of the explosion and the grave , sorrowful, deep voice of the news anchor on live television trying to describe what happened.

Thirty years sure goes by quickly and I'm sure she, and the rest of the Challenger crew, are missed everyday. I am thankful today for their sacrifice and am happy to pay honor in remembering them.

Gregory B. Jarvis

Christa McAuliffe

Ronald E. McNair

Ellison S. Onizuka

Judith A. Resnick

Francis R. Scobee

Michael J. Smith