Challenger Explosion: 25 years ago today

more pics...

NASA has officially set a launch date of June 28 for the very last space shuttle flight.

end of an era. hopefully commercial space flight can pick up the slack.

i cried when the challenger exploded

but it was mostly because i was one.

judith resnik was a fox.

at least it looked cool when it blew up.

I remember that day very vividly, I was in science class, Jr. High, and my teacher Mr. Rinaldi wheeled a TV into the classroom with the breaking news...

one of the few memories that i still remember very, very clearly from the 80s (along with live aid)

i was a freshman when that happened. I remember watching it all over the news at home and during school... but I don't remember what I was doing that very moment... and yeah, that lady had hot 80s hair!

  On 1/29/2011 at 2:28 AM, nene multiple assgasms said:

at least it looked cool when it blew up.

Have shame you fucktard.

i was 11 when that happened and dont remember anything of it

  On 1/29/2011 at 3:45 AM, halisray said:

  On 1/29/2011 at 2:28 AM, nene multiple assgasms said:

at least it looked cool when it blew up.

Have shame you fucktard.

poo brain

  On 1/29/2011 at 4:39 AM, MAXIMUS MISCHIEF said:

  On 1/29/2011 at 3:45 AM, halisray said:

  On 1/29/2011 at 2:28 AM, nene multiple assgasms said:

at least it looked cool when it blew up.

Have shame you fucktard.

poo brain

you are as dumb as a bag of spanners and also a prick.

well done.

  On 1/29/2011 at 2:29 AM, lumpenprol said:

I remember that day very vividly, I was in science class, Jr. High, and my teacher Mr. Rinaldi wheeled a TV into the classroom with the breaking news...

me too but my teacher was mrs. kreski

  On 1/29/2011 at 2:22 AM, Hoodie said:

judith resnik was a fox.

 

 

 

 

 

Great legs!

I remember that vividly as well. I would've been 15, listening to some records (something on ZTT I think) using my Dad's headphones. Must've been skiving off school.

One of my earliest memories, but it's been a bit colored by watching the footage over the years-- I can't remember where I was anymore. I remember being so sad; these folks were heroes to me.

I also remember watching shuttle launches on Cape Canaveral, but I can't remember if that was pre-Challenger or post-. I do remember the fucking sand fleas, though.

  On 1/29/2011 at 4:47 PM, baph said:

...I do remember the fucking sand fleas, though.

Puerto Ricans?

I recently read Feynman's second book "What do you care what other people think?" wherein he spends the second half explaining his part in the committee to investigate the Challenger's explosion. It's quite an interesting read, and Feynman does some pretty serious pwning...

  On 1/29/2011 at 6:25 PM, chenGOD said:

I recently read Feynman's second book "What do you care what other people think?" wherein he spends the second half explaining his part in the committee to investigate the Challenger's explosion. It's quite an interesting read, and Feynman does some pretty serious pwning...

yeah, i just finished that book last week. good stuff.

I was only three and can't remember anything from that year aside from being in my crib and imagining that Mickey, Mini, Donald and Goofy were going to kidnap me and bring me to Disneyland. That + also being in the crib, staring at the closet worrying that the boogeyman was going to emerge from it any minute. I was terrified of that guy thanks to my older bro. Oh, and I remember a few stroller rides too. I did however want to be an astronaut in grade 1, so perhaps it left an impression after all. Though really it should have deterred me if anything.

Why are they calling this "the very last" shuttle flight? Seems like something that could easily resume a few years down the road. Is NASA just that pessimistic at this point?

  On 1/30/2011 at 1:05 AM, Zephyr_Nova said:

I was only three and can't remember anything from that year aside from being in my crib and imagining that Mickey, Mini, Donald and Goofy were going to kidnap me and bring me to Disneyland. That + also being in the crib, staring at the closet worrying that the boogeyman was going to emerge from it any minute. I was terrified of that guy thanks to my older bro. Oh, and I remember a few stroller rides too. I did however want to be an astronaut in grade 1, so perhaps it left an impression after all. Though really it should have deterred me if anything.

Why are they calling this "the very last" shuttle flight? Seems like something that could easily resume a few years down the road. Is NASA just that pessimistic at this point?

they are retiring the shuttles. if they do continue to make more manned space missions, it will be using capsules similar to those from the apollo days.

They probably aren't very cost effective either, and are starting to become ancient tech. All other nations are using minimal capsules which are probably much easier for reentry.

I always liked the shuttles because they were more than disposable rockets with a small module on top, more futuristic in a way. But when I saw the Enterprise at the museum of "National Air and Space Museum" on my trip to the US it looked really goofy and outdated.

I want new shuttles.

  On 1/30/2011 at 1:10 AM, Hoodie said:

  On 1/30/2011 at 1:05 AM, Zephyr_Nova said:

I was only three and can't remember anything from that year aside from being in my crib and imagining that Mickey, Mini, Donald and Goofy were going to kidnap me and bring me to Disneyland. That + also being in the crib, staring at the closet worrying that the boogeyman was going to emerge from it any minute. I was terrified of that guy thanks to my older bro. Oh, and I remember a few stroller rides too. I did however want to be an astronaut in grade 1, so perhaps it left an impression after all. Though really it should have deterred me if anything.

Why are they calling this "the very last" shuttle flight? Seems like something that could easily resume a few years down the road. Is NASA just that pessimistic at this point?

 

they are retiring the shuttles. if they do continue to make more manned space missions, it will be using capsules similar to those from the apollo days.

or renting from privately owned enterprises, which seems to be the future.

would be nice if some Saudi spent his money on space exploration instead of Dubai...we'd probably have a space elevator by now...

it's interesting how old the computers in the shuttles are. they're all based off radiation-hardened 80386 and 80486 processors. of course radiation-hardening and redundancy systems mean that even as old as they are, producing them is serious $$$.

and yet we got to the moon and back using something with a lot less power than a zx spectrum 48k. where did we go fucking wrong?

but did we?

*opens can of worms*