Go At Throttle Up

[willie-pete]

 

 

[Gunboat1]

I remember this so clearly, and the recovery operations.  Godspeed to them all.  Rest In Peace.

[Historian]

2 minutes ago, Gunboat1 said:

I remember this so clearly, and the recovery operations.  Godspeed to them all.  Rest In Peace.

Same here.  

Hell of a time.  

 

[Gunboat1]

"On March 7, salvage divers confirmed the location of Challenger shattered crew module, resting in 100 feet of water 17 miles off shore.

"Local security measures are being taken to assure that the recovery operations can take place in a safe and orderly manner," NASA said in a carefully worded statement. "In deference to family wishes, NASA will not make further comment until recovery operations and identifications are complete."

But by monitoring radio traffic, reporters knew when remains were brought ashore. In one telling exchange, the captain of the lead recovery ship, the USS Preserver, refused instructions to bring crew remains back to port in secrecy and in the dead of night.

"I consider that most inappropriate for these conditions, I'd like to have you verify with our chain of command," the captain angrily called to shore.

The shore control operator said he would check the order, but "on that particular one, that apparently is their call, over."

"This is Preserver," the captain replied after a pause. "Aboard Preserver, it's my call." When Preserver docked later that night, its running lights were on and two military ambulances met the ship.

"That was the breakthrough, in my mind, in what we were able to cover," Hall said. "When we couldn't get anything from NASA, we went out and bought receivers, (and) we all went to Jetty Park, and we would listen to those receivers, and we really found out a lot about the debris recovery. The reason we were there was twofold. One, was to get pictures of the debris and two, to see if they'd recovered the bodies of the astronauts."

 

In part, NASA's decision to withhold details in the wake of Challenger was well-intended, borne of a desire to shield the astronauts' families from the intrusive glare of the media and an equally strong desire to avoid speculation until all the facts were known. And intentional or not, the policy also shielded managers from scrutiny and public accountability, at least in the short term.

But despite NASA's efforts at obfuscation, the presidential commission investigating the disaster slowly but surely uncovered a long history of problems with the O-ring seals in the shuttle's solid-fuel boosters, management miscues and compartmentalized communications that all contributed to the failure.

A section of Challenger's right wing after recovery by salvage crews.NASA

Veteran space reporters generally agree NASA's media policy was a disaster for the space agency, deeply tarnishing the image of a government agency lauded for its open, can-do spirit and forever ending reporters' willingness to simply take NASA's word for something, a lack of trust that lingers to this day.

"I think they did a lot of damage to themselves and the agency with the way they handled the entire Challenger event," Hall said. "They were seen as almost like a god-like agency prior to this, and everybody came down on them, whether it was congressmen, reporters, or others. We lost trust in NASA after Challenger."

 

I was Flag Lieutenant/Aide to the RADM who was in charge of the squadron of recovery and salvage ships including USS PRESERVER.  Those remains were reverently brought ashore under a draped American flag, contrary to NASA's initial desires.  Not on the USN's watch, no way.  They were given the respect and honors due to American heroes.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Gunboat1

[tadbart]

I was at the Cape for the launch, the day before. Had a great view (that was back when you could get pretty close). Watched her rise, then break apart, from my middle school parking lot the next day.

 

That day left a mark on me- one of 3 days I have etched in my mind, including news of my father's death, and Mt. St. Helens' eruption.

[Historian]

I was in the 8th grade in Virginia Beach, VA.   Heard about it after band class.   

[Eric]

I was in my second week of Basic, at FT Benning.

[Batesmotel]

The company I was working for had just received a contract from NASA for battery packs. I would have been the guy actually welding the cells together. We just put the big decals on the front door stating we were an official NASA contractor when we got the news. It just hammered the entire company. 

[Dric902]

I was on a NATO weapons site in Germany. Heard a ruckus in the day room and saw it on the tv.

[gwalchmai]

I was in a darkroom burning negatives on a UV platemaker with my young assistant, Betsy. We had the radio on and they broke in to the music with the news.

[ASH]

i was in jr high school detention  that day  ,  basically it was in school suspension  you had to be there but you stayed all day alone in a room , which i liked  , there was a tv in there and turned it on , 

got in trouble later for that .  watched it blow up on tv ,  teacher came in told me to go to my homeroom class so i left , i walked in and told them the shuttle blew up  nobody believed me so teacher 

turned on tv and sure enough .  always will remember that . 

[railfancwb]

College friend spent his career in NASA. He was there for the Apollo fire, the Challenger explosion, and I believe the Columbia disaster. Each hit him - and the co-workers - hard. Like losing family members.  

[DWARREN123]

I was getting ready to PCS to Germany at the time.

Something you never forget seeing that on TV and in the news.