GD Quickie: Take a Moment to Remember the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger Disaster

Generally speaking, having ‘do you remember where you were when ___ ‘ moments tend to mark tragedies rather than triumphs. And that is certainly true today. I remember that I was completing a Master’s project and contemplating whether to head to work or become a permanent student and living in the fraternity house in January of 2006. We had moved the big TV to the living room in anticipation of the Super Bowl, and a bunch of us were huddled around to watch the Challenger launch. It was a light scene, quickly becoming confused and then quiet when it became clear what had happened.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the day when a brave young teacher joined with six astronauts in a mission that was meant to be historical for one reason … but became historic for another.

So take a moment today to remember the crew of Challenger. And also remember the Apollo I crew, who died tragically 44 years ago yesterday, and all those who have lost their lives in the noble pursuit of knowledge beyond our atmosphere in the hopes of improving our lives and making a difference for our world.

About the Author

Michael Anderson

I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

6 Comments on "GD Quickie: Take a Moment to Remember the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger Disaster"

Travis Ehrlich | January 28, 2011 at 9:45 am |

I was in 6th grade and the 8th graders got to watch it live with each class after to watch on tape in the library. The high school boys basketball coach came to our class to let us know what happened. I have been explaining it to my students all day.
Joel McLaughlin | January 28, 2011 at 10:09 am |

I was in 9th grade in Alebgra class. I was fortunate in that the High School I was in, Interboro High in Prospect Park, PA had their morning announcements televised. So every classroom had a TV. Needless to say we didn’t get much learning in the rest of the day. I cried and cried and cried that day.

Challenger itself was special to me. It’s first launch happened on my birthday. TO this day I have a hat with STS-6 mission patch and “scrambled eggs” on the brim which I had bought at NASA Lewis Research (now Glenn Research) near Cleveland, OH.
- Joel McLaughlin | January 28, 2011 at 10:10 am |
  
  Sheesh…ALGEBRA class. Anyway I am still sad about it today. Godspeed Challenger astronauts!
JohnKes | January 28, 2011 at 12:31 pm |

I was in the School of Engineering machine shop working on my senior project, when the shop manager walks in and announces the tragedy. Many of us, with aspirations of Aerospace Engineering, had the wind knocked out of us. Our advisor often gave us product liability problems to solve. The tragedy left us wondering – What could we have done to prevent that?
Orlando Ja | January 28, 2011 at 3:18 pm |

RT @geardiarysite: Take a Moment to Remember the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger Disaster http://bit.ly/dVJMHE
Jason Wilkins | January 28, 2011 at 3:44 pm |

Found this: GD Quickie: Take a Moment to Remember the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger Disaster http://tinyurl.com/4bghmse

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