Watched it on TV in my high school Physics class.

I was in Sears buying some Craftsman tools, and watched the reports on tv that they had on display.

7th grade French class. I believe we had a substitute teacher that day. Principal came on the PA system to announce it.

High school. Saw it on a tv in the computer lab. I think I was the only student there with two teachers. A half hour later the principal came on the PA with a very faked crying voice and announced it.

Really made me mad (then and now) how the msm kept showing McCauliff’s parents as they watched their daughter die.

I was working in a photography studio in Canton, OH.. My first appointment after lunch was an attorney who informed me of the Challenger explosion.

My wife and I were in Fl driving on hwy 78 and saw the whole thing. Had no idea what we saw until we got to the Hideaway restaurant in Lakeport.

Same as everyone else. Watched it at school live in 6th grade. I was big into military aircraft and NASA so I remember the whole class excited because we got to watch this vs. work. Teacher shut it off pretty quickly.

I was in a KMart and saw a group of people huddled around a TV.
Very sad. I watched for several minutes and I still had work to do.

Forty years ago I was a HS freshman in Trumbull, CT and was out of school for a snow day. I had just come in from shoveling and for whatever reason was watching the launch, something I had only done a couple of times. Hard to believe so much time has passed.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Something about it has always held my fascination.

Challenger and Chernobyl. Have read & watched copious amounts on both.

I was in the 8th grade and our science teacher had the TV on for the launch. Kinda wild.

Then Chernobyl a few months later, although I didn't pick up that interest until the last decade or so.

It was ~15 miles away on a rooftop, watching through binoculars.

It was different from all the other shuttle launches but for a minute or an eternity, I didn't understand what I was seeing. Didn't want to understand.

I was on a jobsite, shooting levels on proposed streets in a new subdivision. Our field coordinator came up to my crew and told us it had blown up after taking off. After watching Apollo astronauts do the same thing so many times on tv, it just seemed impossible that could happen.

I was in the lunch line in middle school when I heard about it. It was my sisters birthday.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 400m,

When the Challenger lifted off, I was exiting I285 at Lawrenceville hwy in Atlanta. Pulled into a gas station for a drink. By the time I returned to my car and radio, the Challenger had disintegrated.

I was in my second year at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona. I remember it was sunny but very cold that morning.

I had seen shuttle launches before. From 60 miles away the shuttle is just a dot rising up on a pillar of flames. When the solid rockets burn out they normally drop away from the orbiter.

That morning I was driving to class and I could see the shuttle rising up in the south. As I turned into the school parking lot I could see the shuttle become a huge orange fireball and the solid motors spiralling away. I thought something didn't look right. By the time I got to my classroom, everyone on campus was standing outside looking south and we could see the debris arcing into the ocean.

After class I went to a friend's house to watch the news on his color tv.

Never forget it, was in the NCO club in Germany after work, having a drink and winning on the nickel slot machine. Heard a big commotion, scooped all my winnings into a popcorn bucket, grabbed my drink and went into the bar area to watch the aftermath with everyone else.

We were in cold weather training at Ft McCoy in Wisconsin. The radio was on in the squad bay when we began hearing the coverage. A really sad day for us all.

I was driving to work between Torrance and Long Beach that morning. I recall seeing all of the cars around me turning on their headlights. That struck me as odd because it was daylight. It dawned on me that something must've happened so I kicked the cassette out and turned on the radio to find out. (I doubt that that (the headlights thing) would happen in LA today.)

Then, we all heard Reagan's speech later and the line "...slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God". That was a rough day.

I was clerking for a district court Judge and we were watching on the TV in his chambers. Really odd that I was just thinking about him this morning, and I had not seen anything to remind me of the event. He was a great guy-I learned a lot from him and he was a super nice guy. He passed away about 5 years ago.

One of those times where you never forget where you were and what you were doing. I was a 3rd grader home from school sick and watched it happen live.