Where were you when Challenger Exploded?

[c172]

Wow! This is the first I realized that tomorrow (in my time zone) is the 30th anniversary of that disaster. That was a very sad day. If I remember correctly, my mother was driving me in her light yellow Dodge Aries wagon off of California State Route 52 (Ardath Road exit? I can't remember. I never go there anymore.). My middle school, The Children's School, was right off of 52 in La Jolla.

We were listening to B-100 when news broke. And at school, we all just had a huge meeting to dissect what happened, deal with our feelings, and make guesses as to what happened (I had thought that the fuel tank somehow banged against the vehicle. It was actually the "O-Ring", which I knew nothing about). It was a sad day, and I still think about it occasionally (along with the loss of Discovery in 2003).

Now, with the shuttles retired, I enjoy watching unmanned launches by United Launch Alliance, and more recently, Spacex.

https://www.youtube.com/user/spacexchannel

https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance

At this point, with a SpaceX launch having failed to land correctly, as much as I want humans to get back in space, I'm in no rush. If I even live to see that day, I'll be plenty content.