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OT: 40th anniversary of Challenger disaster

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BigEastPhil

Heisman
Nov 25, 2007
19,146
13,335
66
Wow.

Can’t believe it’s been 40 years!

I think I had no classes that day and I remember walking into my office in NYC where I worked and the 2 ladies at the front desk were crying.

I said what was wrong and there was a TV in the office showing the Challenger exploding.

Very sad and tragic !

When I was younger , I kept all newspapers of huge events and I’m sure I still have the Daily News and or NY Post of this tragic event
 
Sweet Pea's Corner

Sweet Pea's Corner

All-American
Sep 10, 2001
17,824
5,685
113
Wow. I was eating lunch in the gardeners lunch area at Colonial Park Rose Garden and heard on the radio. In the background was the song Life in a Northern Town. Whenever I hear that song it brings me back to that day.
 
Sweet Pea's Corner

Sweet Pea's Corner

All-American
Sep 10, 2001
17,824
5,685
113
BigEastPhil said:
Wow.

Can’t believe it’s been 40 years!

I think I had no classes that day and I remember walking into my office in NYC where I worked and the 2 ladies at the front desk were crying.

I said what was wrong and there was a TV in the office showing the Challenger exploding.

Very sad and tragic !

When I was younger , I kept all newspapers of huge events and I’m sure I still have the Daily News and or NY Post of this tragic event
Click to expand...
Phil. I also keep newspapers of big events. I know I have it somewhere in the basement.I will dig it out today.
 
S

Section124

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
17,135
20,636
96
Was walking back from the Bursar's Office (don't recall why I was there) and another student told me on the way out.
 
R

RUBubba

All-Conference
Sep 4, 2002
4,947
2,624
113
Taking my freshman Geometry mid term exam. Still remember the proctors face when he walked back in and told the class.
 
iReC89

iReC89

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2014
2,435
1,863
78
I was in Brower sitting with a guy on my hall who was a top RU FB player, but I did not follow the team at the time and had no idea how good he was. It took a while to sink in. Hard to believe. Not sure how I heard. Maybe a tv was on somewhere but more likely I was listening to the radio on a walkman.
 
LeapinLou

LeapinLou

All-American
Jul 24, 2001
13,159
6,839
113
@PiscatawayMike I was also a junior. I was in my Nichol Apartment watching on TV. At the time, I was in a class called Electromagnetic Fields. The Professor, Dr. McAfee, was a friend of one of the astronauts that died.
 
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S

Scarlet4Shore

Senior
Feb 27, 2009
2,320
650
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I was a freshman in high school at home for lunch. My mom had the television on, so I saw it as it happened. Probably the first “where were you when…” event for me.
 
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RUPete90

Senior
Jul 3, 2025
531
756
93
I was home sick from school (high school) and saw the breaking news. Terrible to see Christa McAuliffe's parents watching and their reaction.
 
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tico brown

Heisman
Oct 16, 2005
44,099
14,115
93
Can’t believe it’s been 40 years.

My 8th grade teacher wheeled in a TV for us to relax and watch after testing that week. Plus she thought it was a big deal because that teacher was one of the astronauts.

We all thought it was cool until…

R.I.P. Challenger 7
 
Y

yesrutgers01

Heisman
Nov 9, 2008
122,357
38,108
113
I was working up in IBM Kingston NY...We had wheeled a TV into our conference room to watch it.
 
JC_in128

JC_in128

Junior
Mar 9, 2023
530
378
36
I was a senior at University of Tampa interning with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was a beautiful day. and I was riding in a patrol car with the deputy (if I remember his name was Ray). We had to make a paperwork stop at Tampa General Hospital. After finishing we stood in the parking lot before getting into the car to watch the skies. We could see the plumes as the rocket was going up. We could see the weird shaped plumes after the explosion, but did not know what it was. We got in the car and did not have the radio on. We have the other radio going and did not learn what had happened until a little later in the shift.
 
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Mr. Magoo1

Heisman
Nov 15, 2001
15,456
16,296
113
First job at Smith Barney in NYC (“We eeeearn it”). We hunkered down away from our mainframe dumb terminals to watch it in the only conference room with a TV.
 
C

Colbert17!

Heisman
Aug 30, 2014
17,382
18,820
113
mdk02 said:
Peggy Noonan wrote one hell of a eulogy for Reagan to deliver.
Click to expand...
Peggy Noonan is one of the great commentators of the past 50 years. This is a column that's was written a few weeks after 9/11. She talks about the return of manliness. I tear up every time I read it.

peggynoonan.com

Welcome Back, Duke

A few weeks ago I wrote a column called “God Is Back,” about how, within a day of the events of Sept. 11, my city was awash in religious imagery—prayer cards, statues of saints. It all culminated, …
peggynoonan.com
 
R

RCBeta

Sophomore
Jul 8, 2025
117
108
43
PiscatawayMike said:
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy. Where were you when you heard the news? I was a junior at Rutgers on my way to an Ethics in Media class in the SCILS Bldg. I heard the startling news on a radio perched on a hot dog cart while walking down College Ave.

https://spacecoastdaily.com/2026/01...-challenger-disaster-at-kennedy-space-center/
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I was working at the Sharp Electronics Headquarters in Mahwah.
A friend in Marketing lost his cousin Judith Resnik that day.
 
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RUaMoose_rivals

All-American
Oct 31, 2004
17,240
7,060
113
Was on the USS Coral Sea somewhere in the Med when Petty Officer Smalls came in the shop and told us. One of those events where you remember where and from who you heard about it. A few months later we bombed Libya
 
K

koleszar

Heisman
Jan 1, 2010
37,324
58,646
113
PiscatawayMike said:
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy. Where were you when you heard the news? I was a junior at Rutgers on my way to an Ethics in Media class in the SCILS Bldg. I heard the startling news on a radio perched on a hot dog cart while walking down College Ave.

https://spacecoastdaily.com/2026/01...-challenger-disaster-at-kennedy-space-center/
Click to expand...
I remember watching it on TV in high school during class. It happened; our math teacher turned off the TV, discussed it and went back to teaching. No counselors or days off of school required. Generation X was basically taught, suck it up, figure it out for yourself, that's life now move on.
 
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