… that the Challenger space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after launch. Where were you? I was sitting in a college algebra classroom when I heard about it, and had several more classes to suffer through before I could finally get home and watch the footage on TV. I remember the most upsetting thing about the disaster was watching Christa McAuliffe’s mother’s reaction to the explosion. I can’t even imagine such dismay. My heart breaks again just thinking of it… Poor woman.<\/p>\n
But the most morbidly fascinating thing about the accident is wondering what became of the crew after the space shuttle broke up. The crew compartment remained intact after the explosion, so it’s possible that the crew retained consciousness for at least part of the three long minutes it took the compartment to impact the ocean surface, although it’s more likely that they lost consciousness due to lost pressure in the compartment. However, I can’t help but think what it might have been like to be aware that you are falling to your death and being completely helpless to do anything to save yourself. You certainly can’t say that’s a boring way to die.<\/p>\n