by the Left Coast Rebel
I'll never forget the day in 1986 when the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded, taking the entire crew with her. Even though I was a mere ten years old, the memory is one of the more vivid of my youth. I'll never forget my teacher leaving the room, the principal of Woodland Park Elementary where I attended, called in the teachers to give them the news and to instruct them as to how to explain the tragedy to the children. His words were of no comfort.
You see, this day of infamy was such a devastating thing for the children at our school because we were quite privy of Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian to head to space and a teacher too. We felt like we knew her, as did the teachers. We were all so excited to hear the story of her adventure. I'll never forget President Ronald Reagan's moving statement after the Challenger explosion either.
Why is this pertinent today, you ask? Well a new amateur video has surfaced of the Challenger explosion, from a new perspective. The video was shot by an optometrist named Jack Moss from the back garden of his home in Winter Haven Florida. It is moving, stirring and fascinating to witness the event from his (BETA) video camera and to note that Jack Moss and his wife and neighbor weren't quite sure what had transpired before their eyes.
As you can tell from the video, they were excited, then perplexed, then shocked and horrified. I'm sure that we can all relate.
Interestingly, Mr. Moss had tucked away the BETA tape of the Challenger explosion in his basement for years. There it gathered dust and probably would have never been released. By chance he struck up a conversation with a space-travel fan at his church and mentioned the video to his new friend. Through this connection he was made aware that he could possibly have a piece of American history on his hands and he decided to donate it to the Space Exploration Archive, a non-profit, educational organization in Louisville. All of this just before his passing in December of 2009. Funny how history and recollection turns out that way - by chance. It is quite moving:
Ronald Reagan addresses the tragedy. Happy birthday Mr. President, we miss you:
The crew, from left to right, Teacher in Space Participant, Sharon "Christa" McAuliffe, Payload Specialist, Gregory Jarvis, Mission Specialist, Judy Resnik, Commander Dick Scobee Mission Specialist, Ronald McNair, Pilot, Michael Smith and Mission Specialist, Ellison Onizuka. RIP.
Posted at Lucianne
5 comments:
This is so sad. Thanks for posting. It gave me the opportunity to teach my 10-y-o about that day.
I had wanted to post this a couple weeks ago, but I was at work, and some had already did it. What you also have to recall is that the state of the union was supposed to be that night, if I recall correctly...
Ronnie was special, and he was one in a century. Even though I don't like his progressive roots, TR was the last great one before him. When I hear Ronnie, it is such a contrast to whom we have in office now. It's unbelievable that we have slipped so far.
President Reagan: "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them: this morning, as they prepared for their journey, and waved goodbye, and... slipped the surly bonds of Earth, to touch the face of God."
Goosebumps, LCR. This was a man!
The video was discovered by me when I was discussing my organization, the Space Exploration Archive, with Dr. Jack Moss and his wife Mildred in May 2009. Dr. Moss mentioned to me that he had seen and recorded the event. I expressed my interest. Sadly, Mildred's health failed and she passed away.Shorlty thereafter, Jack Moss was diagnosed with a terminal prognosis. In December during a visit (my last while he was alive) Dr. Moss gave the Beta film to me. One week later he passed. I took responsibility to ensure that this film was placed in the public forum once I had seen it. It first aired on WHAS in Louisville, KY on the 24th anniversary of the tragedy. I am writing a book about the discovery of the film, the man who shot it, and the current state of America in space. It is tenatively titled, "Trouble of Some Kind: From Disaster to Our Destiny in Space".
Dr. Marc A. Wessels
Space Exploration Archive
spacearchive@insightbb.com
Trouble of some kind...That's an understatement and quite obvious. It reminds me of when I watched the second tower get hit. No explanation needed.
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