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Nortazhokie Nortazhokie OP
Jan 28, 2024 at 11:48 AM ET
Space Shuttle Challenger explosion 38 years ago today. Still remember what
I was doing when I heard the news (shoveling snow in my grandparent's driveway).

28 Replies

H
HOKIERIT
Standing in VP of Ops office at a big hospital watching on TV....TRAGEDY!
vt90 vt90
I was in my room in Vawter. As an Aerospace major the next several days ..
were very strange. Several of the professors had been involved in the shuttle project and some were involved in the investigation.
Tafkam Hokie Tafkam Hokie
I remember I found out about it between classes in middle school
Most of the science classes watched it live, but my science class was earlier in the day. One of the kids in school who I don't think ever said a word to me before or after that day just walked up and told me about it.
S
SteveInBaltimore
In a tent outside Cassell huddled up in the cold
When someone came to relieve me of my 2 or 3 hour shift in the tent, they told me the shuttle had exploded. That same cold spell that had it too cold for the O-ring in Florida had it about 10 or 15 degrees in Blacksburg.
O
OrlandoHokie
I watched it from the parking lot of my high school in the Orlando suburbs
kjhokie kjhokie
I was close by, home sick, saw from my backyard in Satellite Beach...
I remember seeing it launch and then it went in all directions, ran inside to turn on the TV...saddest thing I've been an eye witness to.
H
HOKIERIT
Horrendous to have seen it in person. Live TV was bad enough for me!
HokieByWater HokieByWater
Small world. I currently live in Indian Harbour Beach.
MP4VT2004 MP4VT2004
Dang.
O
OrlandoHokie
Yeah I was a freshman in high school
Keep in mind in the Orlando area we are only about 60 miles away from Kennedy Space Center so on a clear day we can watch the launches even though we are an hour away. All these years later and you still get that tug at your heart just thinking about it.
Tuckahokie Tuckahokie
It was really cold on the East Coast...sub-zero in Blacksburg (link)
Link: Click
RoswellGAHokie RoswellGAHokie
Sophomore year of HS. Geometry class.
TomTurkey TomTurkey
Seminar on brittle fracture of steel. Instructor thought it might apply.
Ended up being a triple whammy stupid decision of politics and engineering.
ColoVT82 ColoVT82
Was walking thru the crystal city underground, saw it on a news stand TV
MAHokie69 MAHokie69
I was in my HS Physics class and my teacher brought in a tv to watch it
because of Christa McAuliffe being onboard. Needless to say, that special day did not go as planned. I can still feel the shock and horror that I felt in that moment. We never even considered it would be less than perfect
V
VTtwins
Was at work at NASA LaRC. Had a 2 hour work delay due to the snow and ice
That blew thru the night before. Same arctic front brought the cold air to Kennedy and caused the rubber O ring to fail. Seem to remember the launch was postponed from the day before due to some problem with securing the hatch.
M
MikeVT85
Remember that day like I remember when JFK was shot.
I was out making a cold call for the engineering firm I was with. Heard the news on the radio while I was driving down Virginia Beach Blvd. ** Edited by MikeVT85 at 1/28/2024, 2:15:12 PM
HokieJay HokieJay
I was at work. Someone rolled a TV into the Engineering area. Long day.
7
7Hokie1
Was at home watching the launch, then boom, very sad.
WestyHokie WestyHokie
I was walking across campus, went into Squires and saw the news on cart TV
P
psychobilly
That's exactly how i found out about 9/11.
E
EDGEMAN
I was in the barber shop at Whiting Field when I saw it on television.
VTScanlo VTScanlo
I was watching the launch in our middle school library with all of my
classmates. Such a weird vibe. We didn’t know what to do/say and neither did the teachers.
Victory Ticker Victory Ticker
Same but in 4th grade.
TomTurkey TomTurkey
Shoot, I was in the 6th grade when JFK was shot
** Edited by TomTurkey at 1/28/2024, 6:37:59 PM
Victory Ticker Victory Ticker
You’re aged to perfection.
H
HokieJamie
I was in gym class they interrupted school to announce it on the pa
And the next class was math. I remember waking into that class and other students were asking the teacher if he saw it and he just goes…there’s no survivors from what I saw. I didn’t see it of course until I got home.
Late 80s Hokie Late 80s Hokie
Just came back from some classes into the dorms and after getting over some
shock, immediately started wondering if picking "Aerospace Engineering" as my major was a good choice. Of course, in my case it ultimately didn't matter as Calculus and I had many major disagreements and I ended up majoring in Marketing, got my MBA and am doing well in a more Finance related career.