Remembering the Crew on Board Challenger Thirty Years Ago!

January 28, 2016

Challenger Taking Off on the Morning of Jan 28, 1986

It was thirty years ago!!!

I was watching the late evening news tonight on CTV with Lisa LaFlame, th CTV anchor who reminded the viewers that Challenger – the rocket ship heading off to space with its crew of seven astronauts, five men and two women, exploded in mid air seventy- two seconds after take off.

For many, this tragic moment has been frozen in time. I vividly remember exactly where I was, who I was with thirty years ago today.

The Crew on board the Challenger Shuttle - January 28, 1986

I was a teacher at a middle school in Toronto at the time. It was a blistering cold Canadian winter day in January.

This was the first time in space history when a civilian - a female teacher named Christa McAuliffe, was among the team of astronauts going to space and she was going to teach some interesting lessons from there.

Teacher Christa McAuliffe

This had not gone unnoticed and many news medias and networks had been reporting the Teacher in Space Project in Canada and the U.S.   Teachers and students across North America were excited about this special event. Many schools arranged to have students watching this live broadcast in school auditoriums or in their classrooms from coast to coast. 

Our school was doing the same thing. Students were very excited as teachers had prepared them for days studying topics related to space exploration. We seized extraordinary teaching moments such as this to inspire young minds.

 I was in the middle of preparing my lesson when two Grade 6 colleagues, one after another barged into my classroom and said excitedly,

 “ Have you heard about what happened?” Doug H. asked.

" No, what happened?" I asked, busy getting my preparation done before my next class.

Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Crew Boarding the Shuttle

" The Challenger exploded in mid air just now! Can you believe that?" Doug was almost screaming.

I was puzzled; I could not believe my ears.  What just happened? Doug was always a joker, might be he was just joking trying to pull my legs, getting me excited about something.

" Yes, I tell ya. Anytime you put a teacher there doing something, They will always screw it up for ya!"

Roy G. came in trying to lightened up the air while I was figuring out what Doug had just said.

Immediately after this, our school principal called an emergency staff meeting at lunch and told us what happened. He also asked us to remind calm for the students, and be prepared for students' reactions upon their return from lunch at home.

Challenger exploded seventy two seconds after take off

It was a sad sad day and touched many people including kids. Our son, E. was in grade 2 only at the time and he remembered the event well.

" I remember it. I was at the day nanny's house. She was a middle aged  overweight lady. She cooked kind of mediocre food like wieners and beans and watched daytime TV. But it was interrupted by the Challenger coverage.

We watched it on TV over and over. It was pretty sad." E. texted me when we were chatting about this tragic event as he recalled the event clearly.

Space exploration has gone a long way. Spaceships came and went since the Challenger disaster and researches are going on in many countries. Since then, a space centre, a space arm have been set up in space. We are as curious about what is beyond plant earth as before.

Life goes on but we will always remember the sacrifices the crew on board Challenger made on behalf of human kind thirty years ago. Thank you, you are gone, but not forgotten!

R.T.

Toronto
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