Friday, January 27, 2006
7 myths about the Challenger shuttle disaster - Space News - MSNBC.com
HOUSTON - Twenty years ago, millions of television viewers were horrified to witness the live broadcast of the space shuttle Challenger exploding 73 seconds into flight, ending the lives of the seven astronauts on board.
Wow, twenty years since that January morning. I was six years old and in Kindergarten. We had half day kindergarten and I was in the family room with my mom as she was folding clothes. On the TV was the space shuttle launch. I remember watching the TV and seeing what happened, but it didn't register with me. It was only after seeing my mom upset as well as the news commentators that I realized that something bad had happened.
This would probably be the first news memory that I have. I remember a lot of things before this time, but this is the first thing that did not involve me personally. Granted, I'd spend the rest of my life loving the news...I was probably one of the 3rd graders that had a subscription to TIME. Yes, I read TIME when I little kid.
President Reagan, love him or hate him addressed the nation the night of the disaster and made what I consider one of the most eloquent speeches ever given by a president.
"The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us in the way in which they lived their lives. We'll never forget them nor the last time we saw them this morning as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bounds of Earth and touched the face of God."
If you want to listen to the speech, you can listen to it here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/ronaldreaganchallengeraddressatt3232.mp3 . The speech is great, he managed to give his remorse for the families, address the accident, comfort children, support NASA, promise a return to space, and even get a jab in against the commies...all in the same speech.
My one question is why...oh why are we still relying on a dangerous and overly expensive vehicle for our space exploration?
HOUSTON - Twenty years ago, millions of television viewers were horrified to witness the live broadcast of the space shuttle Challenger exploding 73 seconds into flight, ending the lives of the seven astronauts on board.
Wow, twenty years since that January morning. I was six years old and in Kindergarten. We had half day kindergarten and I was in the family room with my mom as she was folding clothes. On the TV was the space shuttle launch. I remember watching the TV and seeing what happened, but it didn't register with me. It was only after seeing my mom upset as well as the news commentators that I realized that something bad had happened.
This would probably be the first news memory that I have. I remember a lot of things before this time, but this is the first thing that did not involve me personally. Granted, I'd spend the rest of my life loving the news...I was probably one of the 3rd graders that had a subscription to TIME. Yes, I read TIME when I little kid.
President Reagan, love him or hate him addressed the nation the night of the disaster and made what I consider one of the most eloquent speeches ever given by a president.
"The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us in the way in which they lived their lives. We'll never forget them nor the last time we saw them this morning as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bounds of Earth and touched the face of God."
If you want to listen to the speech, you can listen to it here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/ronaldreaganchallengeraddressatt3232.mp3 . The speech is great, he managed to give his remorse for the families, address the accident, comfort children, support NASA, promise a return to space, and even get a jab in against the commies...all in the same speech.
My one question is why...oh why are we still relying on a dangerous and overly expensive vehicle for our space exploration?
