Space Shuttle Challenger Remembered - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Blackthorn · 01-28-2006, 06:46 AM

I remember quite specifically when I heard about this event. I was had just walked into a Corporate Finance class on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. It was a 9:00am class and wow did I dread those. After taking my seat the T.A. comes in and very calmly says, "Well we were going to go over bond strategy today but instead we're going to add a practical element to our discussion. We're going to talk about the imapct of this morning's space shuttle Challenger explosion 1 minute and 10 seconds into flight will have on the stock market and why similar events have always inspired a marked sell off".

Everyone in the class was stunned....

"The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." -- Ronald Regan.

7 Myths about the Challenger

These sequential photos show a fiery plume escaping from the right solid rocket booster as the space shuttle Challenger ascends to the sky on Jan. 28, 1986.

Quote:

By James Oberg
NBC News space analyst
Special to MSNBC
Updated: 11:25 a.m. ET Jan. 27, 2006

HOUSTON - Twenty years ago, millions of television viewers were horrified to witness the live broadcast of the space shuttle Challenger exploding 73 seconds into flight, ending the lives of the seven astronauts on board. And they were equally horrified to learn in the aftermath of the disaster that the faulty design had been chosen by NASA to satisfy powerful politicians who had demanded the mission be launched, even under unsafe conditions. Meanwhile, a major factor in the disaster was that NASA had been ordered to use a weaker sealant for environmental reasons. Finally, NASA consoled itself and the nation with the realization that all frontiers are dangerous and to a certain extent, such a disaster should be accepted as inevitable.

At least, that seems to be how many people remember it, in whole or in part. That’s how the story of the Challenger is often retold, in oral tradition and broadcast news, in public speeches and in private conversations and all around the Internet. But spaceflight historians believe that each element of the opening paragraph is factually untrue or at best extremely dubious. They are myths, undeserving of popular belief and unworthy of being repeated at every anniversary of the disaster.

The flight, and the lost crewmembers, deserve proper recognition and authentic commemoration. Historians, reporters, and every citizen need to take the time this week to remember what really happened, and especially to make sure their memories are as close as humanly possible to what really did happen.

If that happens, here's the way the mission may be remembered:

1) Few people actually saw the Challenger tragedy unfold live on television.

2) The shuttle did not explode in the common definition of that word.

3) The flight, and the astronauts’ lives, did not end at that point, 73 seconds after launch.

4) The design of the booster, while possessing flaws subject to improvement, was neither especially dangerous if operated properly, nor the result of political interference.

5) Replacement of the original asbestos-bearing putty in the booster seals was unrelated to the failure.

6) There were pressures on the flight schedule, but none of any recognizable political origin.

7) Claims that the disaster was the unavoidable price to be paid for pioneering a new frontier were self-serving rationalizations on the part of those responsible for incompetent engineering management — the disaster should have been avoidable.

Myth #1: A nation watched as tragedy unfolded

Few people actually saw what happened live on television. The flight occurred during the early years of cable news, and although CNN was indeed carrying the launch when the shuttle was destroyed, all major broadcast stations had cut away — only to quickly return with taped relays. With Christa McAuliffe set to be the first teacher in space, NASA had arranged a satellite broadcast of the full mission into television sets in many schools, but the general public did not have access to this unless they were one of the then-few people with satellite dishes. What most people recall as a "live broadcast" was actually the taped replay broadcast soon after the event.

Myth #2: Challenger exploded

The shuttle did not explode in the common definition of that word. There was no shock wave, no detonation, no "bang" — viewers on the ground just heard the roar of the engines stop as the shuttle’s fuel tank tore apart, spilling liquid oxygen and hydrogen which formed a huge fireball at an altitude of 46,000 ft. (Some television documentaries later added the sound of an explosion to these images.) But both solid-fuel strap-on boosters climbed up out of the cloud, still firing and unharmed by any explosion. Challenger itself was torn apart as it was flung free of the other rocket components and turned broadside into the Mach 2 airstream. Individual propellant tanks were seen exploding — but by then, the spacecraft was already in pieces.

Myth #3: The crew died instantly

The flight, and the astronauts’ lives, did not end at that point, 73 seconds after launch. After Challenger was torn apart, the pieces continued upward from their own momentum, reaching a peak altitude of 65,000 ft before arching back down into the water. The cabin hit the surface 2 minutes and 45 seconds after breakup, and all investigations indicate the crew was still alive until then.

What's less clear is whether they were conscious. If the cabin depressurized (as seems likely), the crew would have had difficulty breathing. In the words of the final report by fellow astronauts, the crew “possibly but not certainly lost consciousness”, even though a few of the emergency air bottles (designed for escape from a smoking vehicle on the ground) had been activated.

The cabin hit the water at a speed greater than 200 mph, resulting in a force of about 200 G’s — crushing the structure and destroying everything inside. If the crew did lose consciousness (and the cabin may have been sufficiently intact to hold enough air long enough to prevent this), it’s unknown if they would have regained it as the air thickened during the last seconds of the fall. Official NASA commemorations of “Challenger’s 73-second flight” subtly deflect attention from what was happened in the almost three minutes of flight (and life) remaining AFTER the breakup.

Myth #4: Dangerous booster flaws result of meddling

The side-mounted booster rockets, which help propel the shuttle at launch then drop off during ascent, did possess flaws subject to improvement. But these flaws were neither especially dangerous if operated properly, nor the result of political interference.

Each of the pair of solid-fuel boosters was made from four separate segments that bolted end-to-end-to-end together, and flame escaping from one of the interfaces was what destroyed the shuttle. Although the obvious solution of making the boosters of one long segment (instead of four short ones) was later suggested, long solid fuel boosters have problems with safe propellant loading, with transport, and with stacking for launch — and multi-segment solids had had a good track record with the Titan-3 military satellite program. The winning contractor was located in Utah, the home state of a powerful Republican senator, but the company also had the strengths the NASA selection board was looking for. The segment interface was tricky and engineers kept tweaking the design to respond to flight anomalies, but when operated within tested environmental conditions, the equipment had been performing adequately.

Myth #5: Environmental ban led to weaker sealant

A favorite of the Internet, this myth states that a major factor in the disaster was that NASA had been ordered by regulatory agencies to abandon a working pressure sealant because it contained too much asbestos, and use a weaker replacement. But the replacement of the seal was unrelated to the disaster — and occurred prior to any environmental ban.

Even the original putty had persistent sealing problems, and after it was replaced by another putty that also contained asbestos, the higher level of breaches was connected not to the putty itself, but to a new test procedure being used. “We discovered that it was this leak check which was a likely cause of the dangerous bubbles in the putty that I had heard about," wrote physicist Richard Feynman, a member of the Challenger investigation board.

And the bubble effect was unconnected with the actual seal violation that would ultimately doom Challenger and its crew. The cause was an inadequate low-temperature performance of the O-ring seal itself, which had not been replaced.

Myth #6: Political pressure forced the launch

There were pressures on the flight schedule, but none of any recognizable political origin. Launch officials clearly felt pressure to get the mission off after repeated delays, and they were embarrassed by repeated mockery on the television news of previous scrubs, but the driving factor in their minds seems to have been two shuttle-launched planetary probes. The first ever probes of this kind, they had an unmovable launch window just four months in the future. The persistent rumor that the White House had ordered the flight to proceed in order to spice up President Reagan’s scheduled State of the Union address seems based on political motivations, not any direct testimony or other first-hand evidence. Feynman personally checked out the rumor and never found any substantiation. If Challenger's flight had gone according to plan, the crew would have been asleep at the time of Reagan's speech, and no communications links had been set up.

Myth #7: An unavoidable price for progress

Claims that the disaster was the unavoidable price to be paid for pioneering a new frontier were self-serving rationalizations on the part of those responsible for incompetent engineering management — the disaster should have been avoidable. NASA managers made a bad call for the launch decision, and engineers who had qualms about the O-rings were bullied or bamboozled into acquiescence. The skeptics’ argument that launching with record cold temperatures is valid, but it probably was not argued as persuasively as it might have been, in hindsight. If launched on a warmer day, with gentler high-altitude winds, there’s every reason to suppose the flight would have been successful and the troublesome seal design (which already had the attention of designers) would have been modified at a pace that turned out to have been far too leisurely. The disaster need never have happened if managers and workers had clung to known principles of safely operating on the edge of extreme hazards — nothing was learned by the disaster that hadn’t already been learned, and then forgotten.

NBC News space analyst James Oberg spent 22 years at NASA's Johnson Space Center as a Mission Control operator and an orbital designer.

© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

maleficent · 01-28-2006, 06:51 AM

I cannot believe it's been 20 years... I remember so vividly that day, down to the song that was next played on the radio after the dj made the announcement...

It's interesting facts about the disaster... Some I've never heard before...

snowy · 01-28-2006, 06:51 AM

Despite the fact I was only 3.5 years of age, I remember the Challenger accident. I remember watching my mother cry, not understanding why she was crying at the sight of "bunny ears" (the contrail left by the boosters looked like bunny ears to my young eyes).

It was certainly a sad day for all.

The_Jazz · 01-28-2006, 07:00 AM

This is one of those seminal events where people remember exactly where they were when they heard the news. I was a freshman in high school and got out of geometry class early and went down to lunch with a friend. The seniors had a lounge with a TV right next to the cafeteria, and they were watching it there. Any other day I would have been beaten to a pulp for stepping inside, but that day it wasn't an issue.

Charlatan · 01-28-2006, 07:17 AM

I can't believe it's been 20 years. It seems like it was just a couple of years ago.

I remember coming home from school (High School) and seeing it on the television. I remember thinking it was the end of space travel.

Grasshopper Green · 01-28-2006, 07:22 AM

I can't believe it's been 20 years either. I was in third grade, and the principal came over the intercom announcing the accident. Our teacher had to leave the room because she was crying and some other teacher came in to check on us for the next 15 minutes or so. My mother was devastated because she really respected Christa McAuliffe; she displayed a magazine cover of her in our front room for the next several years.

Blackthorn · 01-28-2006, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlatan

I can't believe it's been 20 years. It seems like it was just a couple of years ago.

I remember coming home from school (High School) and seeing it on the television. I remember thinking it was the end of space travel.

What you might be remembering is the second space shuttle disaster that occured on February 1, 2003. That was mission STS-107 where while attempting to land at the close of the mission the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentering the earth's atmosphere.

Bill O'Rights · 01-28-2006, 08:06 AM

20 years. Wow!
I was a 23 year old Air Force sergeant at that time. I was getting ready for a "swing" shift, and was just lacing up my boots, when they broke in with a "Special Report". I sat on the sofa just completely dumbfounded, as I stared at the images that were displayed before me. By the time I got to work, in the SAC underground Command Center, satellite images of the explosion were being brought up on display screens 2 stories tall. The entire command center was completely silent, save for the hum of electrical equipment. Not a single voice, or movement of any kind, could be heard. That was a sight that I will never forget.

Blackthorn · 01-28-2006, 09:05 AM

Ronal Regan's address to the nation on January 28th, 1986.

Quote:

Address to the nation on the Challenger disaster
Oval Office
January 28, 1986

A few hours after the disaster, this speech was delivered to the American people via nationwide radio and television.

648 words

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

And I want to say something to the school children of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.

I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."

There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

ziadel · 01-28-2006, 09:19 AM

I can't believe they were alive long enough to open the emergency O2 tanks...

jesus christ, what a way to go.

prolly was the greatest moment of their lives, theres nothing as euphoric (IMO) as the feeling of impending death.

maleficent · 01-28-2006, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackthorn

Ronal Regan's address to the nation on January 28th, 1986.

Yet another moment I remember so vividly -- I honestly don't remember who Ronnie's speechwriter was... but damn- he had a way with words... Ronnie could always deliver - but the words themself are so powerful...

roachboy · 01-28-2006, 10:58 AM

you should check out edward tufte's analysis of the reasons behind this...one version is in his book/pamphlet "the conceptual problems of powerpoint"--a longer is in his "visual explanations" (i think)...the argument is that test information concerning o-ring tolerances were presented in such garbled ways that the implications--that the shuttle o-rings were increasingly prone to problems as the temperature dropped--were not evident. that and there were no tests done on/about conditions anything like 29 degrees farenheit., which was the temperature at launch time.

interesting stuff.....and a total critique of powerpoint (which i loathe) at the same time.

i was working that day...i remember watching the footage at a comrade's desk, the loop of the explosion over and over. i remember just sitting there for a long time watching it explode again and again.

reagan's words meant nothing to me.

Blackthorn · 01-28-2006, 12:46 PM

Jim Borgman had a similar drawing for the Challenger but I can't seem to locate it online. I still have the newspaper in which it was run. It was a small hand in the lower right hand corner holding up an apple and the background was clearly meant to imply the heavens above.

splck · 01-28-2006, 01:06 PM

I watched it live on TV after finishing work. I felt bad about the crew, but the thing blowing up was kinda cool.
Time sure goes fast.

ObieX · 01-28-2006, 01:07 PM

There's an excelent tribute flash at www.nasa.gov for Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia with info on all who were lost and videos about the crews of Challenger and Columbia.

Rodney · 01-28-2006, 01:18 PM

I was at work, second floor of a two-story office. The head of the company kept a TV in his office, and he ran upstairs to tell everybody that the Challenger had exploded, and that they were showing it on TV. Everybody streamed downstairs, except me. I had no doubt that it had happened. But I needed to think about it right then, and grieve, much more than I needed to actually see it.

I waited a couple of days to actually watch the footage. It was actually quite hard to watch television and _not_ see the Challenger blow up, so often was the accident replayed.

ngdawg · 01-28-2006, 01:35 PM

This definitely is one of those " 'where were you when' moments of history"...
Home for lunch from work, there'd been 'rumors' that the shuttle 'exploded', so I turned on the tv soon as I got home. What I saw so devastated me I began crying and called work saying I'd be late coming back....it's the spouse's birthday and from that point on, it's how we look at it-the day the shuttle blew up.
20 years.....a lot of days but doesn't seem so long ago.

flamingdog · 01-28-2006, 08:10 PM

Quote:

The cabin hit the surface 2 minutes and 45 seconds after breakup, and all investigations indicate the crew was still alive until then.

Fuuuuuck. I never knew that.

I was only 5 when this happened... so I can't really remember it. I've been fascinated by space exploration as long as I can remember though. So sad, and yet so inspirational.

absorbentishe · 01-29-2006, 03:50 PM

I was in algabra class (which I hated), and were supposed to go to the library to watch it. By the time we got there, we just missed the take off, I think it was about 40 seconds into it, then.... Man, that screwed the day for me. I was down all day, then watching it over and over on the news that night didn't help. Oh and I failed my algabra class, I should have put the work in the first time!

Charlatan · 01-29-2006, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackthorn

What you might be remembering is the second space shuttle disaster that occured on February 1, 2003. That was mission STS-107 where while attempting to land at the close of the mission the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentering the earth's atmosphere.

Umm... nope. I saw that crash while I was shopping in Best Buy. Twenty years ago I was 17 years old and definately in High School...

01-28-2006, 06:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	I cannot believe it's been 20 years... I remember so vividly that day, down to the song that was next played on the radio after the dj made the announcement... It's interesting facts about the disaster... Some I've never heard before... __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

01-28-2006, 06:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	Despite the fact I was only 3.5 years of age, I remember the Challenger accident. I remember watching my mother cry, not understanding why she was crying at the sight of "bunny ears" (the contrail left by the boosters looked like bunny ears to my young eyes). It was certainly a sad day for all. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

01-28-2006, 07:17 AM	#5 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I can't believe it's been 20 years. It seems like it was just a couple of years ago. I remember coming home from school (High School) and seeing it on the television. I remember thinking it was the end of space travel. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

01-28-2006, 07:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
Grasshopper Green ...is a comical chap Location: Where morons reign supreme	I can't believe it's been 20 years either. I was in third grade, and the principal came over the intercom announcing the accident. Our teacher had to leave the room because she was crying and some other teacher came in to check on us for the next 15 minutes or so. My mother was devastated because she really respected Christa McAuliffe; she displayed a magazine cover of her in our front room for the next several years. __________________ "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king" Formerly Medusa

01-28-2006, 08:06 AM	#8 (permalink)
Bill O'Rights will always be an Alyson Hanniganite Location: In the dust of the archives	20 years. Wow! I was a 23 year old Air Force sergeant at that time. I was getting ready for a "swing" shift, and was just lacing up my boots, when they broke in with a "Special Report". I sat on the sofa just completely dumbfounded, as I stared at the images that were displayed before me. By the time I got to work, in the SAC underground Command Center, satellite images of the explosion were being brought up on display screens 2 stories tall. The entire command center was completely silent, save for the hum of electrical equipment. Not a single voice, or movement of any kind, could be heard. That was a sight that I will never forget. __________________ "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony "Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

01-28-2006, 07:00 AM	#4 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	This is one of those seminal events where people remember exactly where they were when they heard the news. I was a freshman in high school and got out of geometry class early and went down to lunch with a friend. The seniors had a lounge with a TV right next to the cafeteria, and they were watching it there. Any other day I would have been beaten to a pulp for stepping inside, but that day it wasn't an issue.

01-28-2006, 09:19 AM	#10 (permalink)
ziadel Myrmidon Location: In the twilight and mist.	I can't believe they were alive long enough to open the emergency O2 tanks... jesus christ, what a way to go. prolly was the greatest moment of their lives, theres nothing as euphoric (IMO) as the feeling of impending death. __________________ Ron Paul '08 Vote for Freedom Go ahead and google Dr. Ron Paul. You'll like what you read.

01-28-2006, 10:58 AM	#12 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	you should check out edward tufte's analysis of the reasons behind this...one version is in his book/pamphlet "the conceptual problems of powerpoint"--a longer is in his "visual explanations" (i think)...the argument is that test information concerning o-ring tolerances were presented in such garbled ways that the implications--that the shuttle o-rings were increasingly prone to problems as the temperature dropped--were not evident. that and there were no tests done on/about conditions anything like 29 degrees farenheit., which was the temperature at launch time. interesting stuff.....and a total critique of powerpoint (which i loathe) at the same time. i was working that day...i remember watching the footage at a comrade's desk, the loop of the explosion over and over. i remember just sitting there for a long time watching it explode again and again. reagan's words meant nothing to me. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite Last edited by roachboy; 01-28-2006 at 11:01 AM..

01-28-2006, 12:46 PM	#13 (permalink)
Blackthorn Beware the Mad Irish Location: Wish I was on the N17...	Jim Borgman had a similar drawing for the Challenger but I can't seem to locate it online. I still have the newspaper in which it was run. It was a small hand in the lower right hand corner holding up an apple and the background was clearly meant to imply the heavens above. __________________ What are you willing to give up in order to get what you want?

01-28-2006, 01:06 PM	#14 (permalink)
splck it's jam Location: Lowerainland BC	I watched it live on TV after finishing work. I felt bad about the crew, but the thing blowing up was kinda cool. Time sure goes fast. __________________ nice line eh?

01-28-2006, 01:07 PM	#15 (permalink)
ObieX Pickles Location: Shirt and Pants (NJ)	There's an excelent tribute flash at www.nasa.gov for Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia with info on all who were lost and videos about the crews of Challenger and Columbia. __________________ We Must Dissent.

01-28-2006, 01:18 PM	#16 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	I was at work, second floor of a two-story office. The head of the company kept a TV in his office, and he ran upstairs to tell everybody that the Challenger had exploded, and that they were showing it on TV. Everybody streamed downstairs, except me. I had no doubt that it had happened. But I needed to think about it right then, and grieve, much more than I needed to actually see it. I waited a couple of days to actually watch the footage. It was actually quite hard to watch television and _not_ see the Challenger blow up, so often was the accident replayed.

01-28-2006, 01:35 PM	#17 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	This definitely is one of those " 'where were you when' moments of history"... Home for lunch from work, there'd been 'rumors' that the shuttle 'exploded', so I turned on the tv soon as I got home. What I saw so devastated me I began crying and called work saying I'd be late coming back....it's the spouse's birthday and from that point on, it's how we look at it-the day the shuttle blew up. 20 years.....a lot of days but doesn't seem so long ago. __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

01-29-2006, 03:50 PM	#19 (permalink)
absorbentishe Boy am I horny today Location: T O L E D O, Toledo!!	I was in algabra class (which I hated), and were supposed to go to the library to watch it. By the time we got there, we just missed the take off, I think it was about 40 seconds into it, then.... Man, that screwed the day for me. I was down all day, then watching it over and over on the news that night didn't help. Oh and I failed my algabra class, I should have put the work in the first time!