by "Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
Published 01/28/2017 at 09:21

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STARS: 3

“Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we’ve never lost an astronaut in flight; we’ve never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.”

- Ronald Reagan

Replies (13)

"Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer" (dash-doorhandle-and-bondo)
01/28/2017 at 09:27, STARS: 3

the disrespect for astronauts is the main reason I can’t stomach the internet’s space hoaxers.

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
01/28/2017 at 09:31, STARS: 0

Agreed.

"jimz" (jimz)
01/28/2017 at 09:53, STARS: 1

I clearly remember watching it as it happened. I was in fourth grade and the launch was playing on the TVs in every classroom because Christa McAuliffe was on the mission.

I don’t think we got much class work done for the rest of the day, we just sat, stunned, watching the news coverage afterwards.

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
01/28/2017 at 09:57, STARS: 0

I can only imagine how tough it was to watch that live. I was only 2 at the time so I wouldn’t have known what I was watching. The only thing I can compare it to is when I watched 9/11 unfold while sitting in class in high school.

"facw" (facw)
01/28/2017 at 09:58, STARS: 1

"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
01/28/2017 at 10:12, STARS: 0

I was supposed to be born on the day it happened. I wasn’t, thankfully.

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
01/28/2017 at 10:53, STARS: 1

The podcast ‘Undone’ had an episode with Columbia Astronaut Julia Clark’s husband this week that discussed the positive impact that the sacrifices made by astronauts such as those lost on Challenger and Columbia can have on those of us still on earth. It was an excellent episode, I highly recommend it to help put such tragedies in perspective.

The scientific community on the whole does not get the respect it deserves, especially today.

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/28/2017 at 11:32, STARS: 1

http://articles.latimes.com/1997-01-29/local/me-23410_1_private-road

When the Challenger accident occurred I was still in college. Years later I worked at Hughes Aircraft Company in satellite ground systems. Greg Jarvis, a payload specialist on Challenger, worked for Hughes as an engineer on various satellite programs at the time of the accident.

The company had solicited employees for names for a new road near the plant where we built the satellites, and the top choice was ‘Greg Jarvis Way’. Walking by that stretch of road daily was a little reminder of the risks and rewards of spaceflight.

Godspeed, Greg...

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
01/28/2017 at 12:01, STARS: 1

Very awesome. Thanks for sharing that.

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
01/28/2017 at 12:19, STARS: 0

I’ll definitely check that out. Thanks!

"Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer" (dash-doorhandle-and-bondo)
01/28/2017 at 12:47, STARS: 0

bout the same age, was a space obseessed kid, didn’t see it live, but word went around the school fast.

"Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer" (dash-doorhandle-and-bondo)
01/28/2017 at 12:53, STARS: 1

argued this video with a friend. He said “buzz is pretty touchy about it, maybe he’s hiding something...” To which I countered “ Buzz Aldrin was an astronaut, not only did these guys strap themselves to 400 tons of dynamite at work, they were the quarterback, the fucked the prom queen and they got up every morning and pissed excellence, and Buzz still does (at his age though he probably has to piss excellence like 30 times a day) . that’s why he punched that moron,’cause that’s what guys like that do.”

"facw" (facw)
01/28/2017 at 14:59, STARS: 0

Yes, and if you watch the whole video, he was pretty patient with this asshole before he reacted.