OT: Challenger, What were you doing 25 years ago today?

[Jim Dungar]

I was in a meeting discussing 3rd party analog input devices.

 

[danw]

I had pulled out of the driveway, just starting a 7 hour drive to Minneapolis for a sales call there the next day. The news broked on the car radio. I turned around in the neighbor's driveway, went back home to watch the shuttle launch replays on TV for an hour or so before re-starting the trek. My oldest daughter, now an accountant. was an infant. It was a brilliantly bright sunny day in Northern Illinois, snow on the ground.

 

[curlyandshemp]

Funny how those of us old enough remember things such a long time ago, yet struggle to remember where I left the car keys.

Working at a scale company, when one of the mechanics came running in after driving back from a job and yelling " ...holy s!!t the shuttle just blew up!.."

 

[OkiePC]

Funny how those of us old enough remember things such a long time ago, yet struggle to remember where I left the car keys.

That's why I just leave them in the ignition...

 

[lee1968nh]

I was a senior at Concord High School (where McAuliffe was a teacher). I skipped the assembly and went home to watch the anomaly (i.e. "major malfunction") happen there. I did not have her as a teacher but did know who she was.

 

[sfindley]

I was in P.E. class in 5th grade. My teacher was a prankster, so when we returned to class and he told us, we thought he was telling a joke. We had a TV in the class, so he turned it on and we watched the coverage. Hard to believe it's been 25 years...

 

[tomalbright]

I was at work, same office as on 9/11. Just amazing the big difference between the two as far as reporting. I got a phone call from home about the shuttle as that was all we had. We watched the 9/11 events on tv, and got internet updates until most of it shut down for high traffic.

I used to not change jobs much...

 

[todster]

Freezing my butt off on the flightline at Eielson AFB Alaska while getting our planes ready to bomb Gaddaffi.

 

[gbradley]

That's why I just leave them in the ignition...

I love to visit friends or relatives that live on the outskirts.
That's where you leave the keys. In the ignition.

 

[JHarbin]

I had just walked out of a Plant where I was on a Service Call calibrating some old Westinghouse/Hagan Ring-Balance Flowmeters. Meters are long gone and plant has changed hands several times since.

 

[tommy23t]

I had ducked out of work to get a part for my car. I remember listening to the launch on the radio and was numb getting out of the car. The guys in the auto parts store had not heard, and quickly turned on the radio. Sure was a bunch of sad sacks in that store.

 

[brucechase]

During that time, I was working (as a co-op) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station which is located adjacent to the NASA section. That quarter was my off quarter as I had just worked the one previous and was scheduled to work the next one in April.

On my last quarter there as a co-op, I watch them put a concrete cap on an old minute man silo where they "buried" some of the shuttle parts.

That day I was actually at school getting ready to go to my circuits class. I watched from my dorm room as I did all the other launches.

Because of this and the "mood" at NASA, it really changed my mind on working there. I was asked if I wanted a full time position after graduation and instead chose to go antoher path.

 

[rstech]

I was in grade 8 and the teacher brought the TV from the library into class so we could all watch it on the news. We all just watched in silence.

 

[ndzied1]

I was in my 2nd year of college. I don't think I got to see any video until I came home later that day. Had one prof that missed the trimester because he had worked on the Shuttle and was called back to NASA for a few months.

 

[widelto]

I was a computer maintenance engineer working on DECnet with PDP 11/44, VAX 11/750 and VAX 11/785 minicomputers.