NASA Day of Remembrance

[VeloClone]

NASA has declared today the 2019 NASA Day of Remembrance. In a strange twist of fate three of NASA's biggest disasters occurred in the same week of the year decades apart.

The Apollo 1 fire occurred during a systems test on the launch pad January 27, 1967. All three Apollo astronauts died in the fire.

The space shuttle Challenger exploded about 70 seconds after lift off on January 28, 1986. All seven crew members were killed including one civilian astronaut, school teacher Christa McAuliffe.

The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry on February 1, 2003. Six NASA astronauts and the first ever Israeli astronaut died in the accident.

The Day of Remembrance is to remember all NASA personnel, astronauts as well as ground crew, who have given their lives for the exploration of space.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

I remember coming into work and hearing about the Challenger explosion.
For Columbia I had spent the night at the Courtyard Inn, woke up and turned on the TV. Once I flipped around and saw all the news stations were at the same site I knew something was up. Then it dawned on me that there had to have been another shuttle incident before I actually heard then say it.

 

[VeloClone]

I remember coming into work and hearing about the Challenger explosion.
For Columbia I had spent the night at the Courtyard Inn, woke up and turned on the TV. Once I flipped around and saw all the news stations were at the same site I knew something was up. Then it dawned on me that there had to have been another shuttle incident before I actually heard then say it.

My ex-wife picked me up from class at Iowa State and told me about Challenger. I was in a state of disbelief. At that point everyone had been lulled into the delusion that space travel had become safe.

 

[VeloClone]

Please keep the lost and their families in your thoughts and prayers today. We move on, but the families have to live with a hole in their lives.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I was in Driver's Ed, driving the car with my instructor when the news broke (Challenger) on the radio. Definitely one of those moments that you'll never forget.

 

[isufbcurt]

1st grade for Challenger and 1st year out of college for Columbia.

I was big into space stuff when i was younger. Even went to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL as a 6th grader.

On a side note my FIL received the "Silver Snoopy Award" from NASA as he is an engineer for a company that helped design some equipment for them. He retired from that company and NASA hired him as a consultant so he spends a lot of time at their New Orleans facility.

 

[VeloClone]

I had the opportunity to hear Astronaut Jerry Linenger speak about his experience with the major fire about Mir. It was a sobering reminder of just how precarious human survival is in space. I would recommend reading his story if you never get the chance to hear him speak in person.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

We watched the Challenger launch during math class in grade school. All of the classrooms were tuned in, but my teacher had extra incentive as her family had ties with the McAuliffes.

She was completely inconsolable as she broke down into tears. It was my first experience with someone that grief stricken and is still burned in my memory.

 

[Sousaclone]

Wasn't old enough for challenger (less than a year old), but I actually remember Columbia live. Was up on saturday morning (had to be at work at 11) and ended up watching the news to see the shuttle land and watched the various news anchors realize what had happened.