Off The Record

By Chris Spangler  

Contributor   

There are certain life events that become imprinted on our collective memory, ones so clear it seems like they took place just yesterday. 

Each generation has its own milestone, and can easily recall where they were when it happened.

Fill in the blank: VJ Day. JFK shot. 9/11. COVID-19. 

And Challenger.

For Generation Xers, the tragedy that took place 35 years ago Jan. 28^th nine miles above Cape Canaveral was a defining moment in history … and their young lives. Even those in elementary school then likely can tell you where they were on that fateful day.

That’s because Challenger was the first shuttle to carry a teacher into space, and every classroom across America was tuned in to watch.

I was working at the Daily Union the morning of Jan. 28, 1986, when Challenger was launched. The newsroom had no TV, of course, and we were depending on the Associated Press wire for coverage. 

I recall glancing at the clock to gauge when our front-page story on the blastoff might arrive just as an AP bulletin popped up on my video display terminal.

“Challenger explodes …”

Now, space shuttle launches had grown quite common by then, so even though this one was special, thanks to New Hampshire social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe being on board, I didn’t think too much about it. Obviously, the pending full sentence would read “Challenger explodes into space.”

But that would not be the case. An advertising rep rushed into the office to report that the space shuttle had broken apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing the five astronauts and two payload specialists. 

Unlike today, when staffers would jump into action searching the web for photos, videos and other content to post on our website and Facebook page right away, everyone stopped what they were doing and the newsroom went quiet. We simply sat there, numb, for a few minutes, looking at each other in disbelief and anxiously awaiting AP reports as they dribbled in one paragraph at a time.

The paper’s deadline was a lot later back then, so I headed out to get local reaction for a sidebar. 

My destintation: Purdy Elementary School, whose phy-ed teacher, Sylvan Quinn, had been among the more than 10,500 educators who had applied to the Teacher in Space Project that eventually selected McAuliffe. A pilot himself, he had told me the week before, “I figured that as long as you fly, why not fly a little higher?”

McAuliffe won out, but Sylvan did end up as a finalist in the Teacher in Space Program and one of 315 Wisconsin nominees invited to attend the launch in person.

That was to be Jan. 23, 1986, but it had to be postponed several times over the next five days for a variety of reasons, among them strong winds and technical glitches. So when blastoff finally was a “go,” Sylvan was back in Fort Atkinson leading his students down the hall to watch it in the school library.

Not surprisingly, he was shocked by the disaster, as were his students. However, he said that if the program were to be repeated, he most assuredly would apply … though his wife might not be pleased. 

Sylvan told me that that this marked the first deaths on an active shuttle mission, but it should not have been a surprise. He once heard Frank Borman, president of Eastern Airlines, say during a speech that with the large number of flights taking place, it would be only a matter of time before there would be a shuttle disaster.

In fact, when he was eliminated from the competition, Sylvan said, he had rationalized it by saying that maybe he was fortunate because it might turn out be a disaster.

Talk about a premonition.

As readers know, the Challenger explosion was caused by a leak in an O-ring seal on the booster rocket, allowing hot gaseous exhaust to leak out and cause the cold external tank containing liquid oxygen and hydrogen to rupture and explode.

It grounded the space shuttle program for nearly three years, until Discovery lifted off in September 1988.

Sadly, Challenger would not be the last space shuttle disaster: Seven astronauts lost their lives in 2003 when Columbia started to break up on its return home. The space shuttle program was retired in July 2011 after 135 missions.

Thirty-five years have passed, but Gen-Xers and their elders undoubtedly still remember Krista McAuliffe and her fellow crew members. 

And they can tell you exactly where they were when the space shuttle Challenger counted down to liftoff, and altered the course of history.

Chris Spangler is the former managing editor of the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson. She is a contributor and editorial consultant for FortAtkinsonOnline.com.

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