Challenger....20 Years Ago

I'd like to take a moment to remember the astronauts that lost their lives in the Challenger explosion 20 years ago today. I'd also like to remember their families. The Challenger explosion was one of the first, jarring "where were you?" moments of my generation. The very first memory that I have of the Challenger isn't the terrible explosion that day. It was the day that I visited the White House in Washington D.C. on an 8th grade school trip. As we were touring through, I remember the tour guide telling us that President Reagan was going to announce which school teacher would be going into space on Challenger in the very room I was standing, later that night. I remember crews hanging a HUGE picture of the space shuttle behind the podium. From that day on, I kept up with all Challenger news. I would have never dreamed how the ending would go.

I wasn't watching live coverage that day in 1986. I was a freshman in high school. I can remember it so vividly. It's a cliche thing to say I know, but it's true. I was on my way from drama class to my French I class, when my friend Pam told us the news. I remember thinking, "she MUST be exaggerating". As soon as I got into class, I knew it was no exaggeration. Every classroom television was broadcasting and rebroadcasting the tragedy as it unfolded. It was one of those moments, much like the assasination of President Kennedy, and 9/11, where the United States and the rest of the world stopped to watch in horror. It was one of the very first national tragedies my generation had known. Even though the Vietnam war wasn't over until 1973, my generation grew up in a time of relative peace. We had witnessed many happy endings as a generation: the assasination attempt on Reagan - who lived, the freedom of the Iran hostages, and a time of a fairly good economic boom. The Challenger disaster was the one instance were no happy ending was to come. As we all watched the explosion streak through the sky, my generation learned to mourn with the nation and to feel for fellow citizens that we didn't even know. Many of us were faced with our own mortality for the first time. Our dreams of regular citizens in space dashed. We were left to wonder if we'd ever fly into space again, and how we could go on. What was next?

Unfortunately, space travel has always been a risky business. This weekend also marks the anniversary of the Apollo I accident. Then in 2003, we relieved the shuttle disaster all over again, when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded on reentry. I just feel it's necessary to remember all of those folks that gave their lives to expand OUR horizons - that gave the kids like me a reason to look to the stars and wonder what is out there.