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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 13:20:34 GMT
Am I reading the article correctly? It sounds like the launch was broadcast live but all of the network stations had already cut away at the time of the explosion and CNN was the only one to catch it live? Immediate replays were then played on those stations who cut away-- which would account for the memories of "watching it live".
"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."
It was live on cable (CNN) but no where else. If you didn't have cable and weren't watching CNN you didn't see it live. in 1986 relatively few people had cable tv. The major networks were on cable as well. They had moved on to other scheduled programing and weren't broadcasting the event live when it happened. So what they showed as a tape of the event. If you were watching CNN you saw it live. If you watched it on ABC, CBS or NBC you saw a tape delay. In 1986 CNN wasn't considered an important news station. It was a cable oddity belonging to that wealthy guy Ted Turner who had more money than sense. I would hazard a guess that this was a defining moment in CNN's history as a truly viable news outlet in its own right. And that the idea of 24/7 live news coverage was something people would watch.
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Post by melanell on Jan 27, 2016 13:29:45 GMT
My coworker told me about it and I thought he was kidding. It didn't really hit me until after work when I saw it on TV in the dorm. It was shocking. This is what happened to me on 9/11. I was working with one coworker when another told us, and he was the type who was always trying to get people to believe crap he'd make up, so we automatically scoffed at him, and he told us he was dead serious, and we were just dumbfounded. ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/mYSUyHtG9Jrcmm_ydVcK.jpg)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 13:38:08 GMT
I was rehearsing for a high school play when it happened. I remember being shocked and incredibly sad. I can' believe it's been 30 years.
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Jan 27, 2016 13:58:21 GMT
We had mid-term exams that week, and we were early released. I remember it distinctly. We watching, of all things, I Dream of Jeannie, on WOR, when they broke in with the news. My mom was at the pharmacy picking up a prescription when it came over the radio in the store. It was just gut wrenching.
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Post by kckckc on Jan 27, 2016 14:02:47 GMT
I was at home with my 4 month old son. We definitely had cable at the time, but I don't know if I was watching it on CNN or not.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 14:08:25 GMT
Am I reading the article correctly? It sounds like the launch was broadcast live but all of the network stations had already cut away at the time of the explosion and CNN was the only one to catch it live? Immediate replays were then played on those stations who cut away-- which would account for the memories of "watching it live".
"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."
So, I do remember correctly! I remember using a bathroom pass and trying to peek in the classroom that was watching it live.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 14:12:26 GMT
I was a sophomore in high school and we had a snow day. So we were watching CBS's coverage of the launch at home. After the explosion, I remember hoping that somehow the astronauts had survived but knowing deep down they probably hadn't.
When we went back to school the next day, everyone was talking about it. There were all kinds of theories about what had happened, foremost being sabotage by the Soviets. Most of the guys in my class were convinced that was it.
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Post by lovinlife on Jan 27, 2016 14:14:07 GMT
My brother and I were both home from school that day...maybe my mom had let us skip to watch? I don't really remember but we watched it on tv. It was heart breaking
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Post by genny on Jan 27, 2016 14:23:48 GMT
I know I was 12, I think I was in the 6th grade. I was home from school that day. I can't remember why but I know I was sick or had some procedure done (I had a lot of ear problems as a kid, so it was probably one of the many surgeries or whatever I had). My mom had taken the day off of work of course - so I know it was serious whatever had kept me home because she DID NOT take off work unless it was serious. She was in her sewing room and I was watching TV - she'd had me turn up the TV so she could hear what the announcers were saying during the liftoff. When it blew up I started yelling for her, she ran into the den with me and we both watched in silence. I remember how devastated she was, she was a teacher and it clearly resonated with her on a deeper level. My mom is a rare cryer and she cried that day. ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/mYSUyHtG9Jrcmm_ydVcK.jpg) It's one of those days like 9/11 that I won't ever forget, especially my mom's reaction. Fast forward to Columbia - we had just gotten back from a cruise. The space shuttle was taking off right down the street and we wanted to stay and watch, but had to get back on the road to get home and get our kids. We drove for about half an hour and pulled over on the side of the highway (with hundreds of other drivers) and watched the liftoff. We didn't see it until it got pretty high since we were so far way, but watched until it was mostly out of sight. When we got home later that afternoon we learned that it had exploded. All of us in the car who had watched were stunned. As Americans I'm sure we were all affected, but we felt so much more connection I guess because we'd kind of been there maybe? I don't know. Both bad days.
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Post by Yubon Peatlejuice on Jan 27, 2016 14:25:13 GMT
It still amazes me that Columbia didn't get nearly as much coverage as Challenger. Maybe that's because there was no teacher onboard and/or shuttle missions had become so routine by then that no one paid attention. When I was talking about Challenger with friends, many of them didn't even know about the Columbia disaster. I was like "WTH?"
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SweetieBsMom
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Jan 27, 2016 14:26:13 GMT
We were in the gym having lunch (went to a small catholic all girls school, the gym doubled as the cafeteria). And Sr. Helene, the principal, came on the loud speaker to announce what happened. I was a freshman in high school. We were all stunned. Then that night we watched it over and over on the news.
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Post by lbp on Jan 27, 2016 14:27:16 GMT
I at work and on break watching the take off on our TV in the lounge. We all just sat there is disbelief and then very quietly made our way back to the office to let the others know. We all went back to the break room and watched the news for most of the day. What a sad day.
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Post by smartypants71 on Jan 27, 2016 14:27:55 GMT
I was in 10th grade biology
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Post by ferblover on Jan 27, 2016 14:31:40 GMT
I was in Gym class and our teacher came back early to get us to tell us what happened. My aunt and uncle were at the launch/near the launch and my uncle had just bent down to load more film in his camera when the first explosion happened. Load film, I haven't said that phrase in years!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 14:33:23 GMT
My elementary school only had a few TVs so the upper grades got to watch it. I was in third grade and heard about it after the fact. Those in 4th-6th got to watch it live. I remember my mom being upset when they replayed the footage on the evening news. She wouldn't let me watch it. It was like a month or so before I actually saw the whole thing, not just snippets.
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Post by mimima on Jan 27, 2016 14:46:23 GMT
I was in 8th Grade and it was announced over the intercom into our classrooms. One of our school's teachers had been a finalist and trained with Christa McAuliffe.
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Post by scrapsotime on Jan 27, 2016 14:50:37 GMT
Fast forward to Columbia - we had just gotten back from a cruise. The space shuttle was taking off right down the street and we wanted to stay and watch, but had to get back on the road to get home and get our kids. We drove for about half an hour and pulled over on the side of the highway (with hundreds of other drivers) and watched the liftoff. We didn't see it until it got pretty high since we were so far way, but watched until it was mostly out of sight. When we got home later that afternoon we learned that it had exploded. All of us in the car who had watched were stunned. As Americans I'm sure we were all affected, but we felt so much more connection I guess because we'd kind of been there maybe? I don't know. Both bad days. The Columbia exploded on reentry and not lift-off. Lift-off was January 16, 2003 and reentry, when the disaster occurred was February 1, 2003. So, the anniversary of that is coming up, too.
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Post by littlemama on Jan 27, 2016 14:53:16 GMT
I was in high school at the time - they did not say a word about it. I walked home after school, stopped in at the party store to get something and saw it on their TV. I could not believe the high school said nothing.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jan 27, 2016 14:53:58 GMT
I was a 5th grader and I remember watching it in school. I thought it was a live broadcast otherwise I can't imagine why the school would show 5th graders the shuttle exploding like that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 14:56:06 GMT
I was living in San Diego and had just sat down with my breakfast in front of the television before heading out to class. I remember just staring at the television in shock. I can even remember that I was eating peanut butter toast and a banana. It's all we talked about in my history class that day. ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/mYSUyHtG9Jrcmm_ydVcK.jpg)
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Post by paigepea on Jan 27, 2016 15:01:04 GMT
Thank you for reminding me about this. We were vacationing in Florida and could see darkness in the sky in the far distance. It was a terrible day. I remember that trip to Florida so well.
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Post by terri on Jan 27, 2016 15:03:27 GMT
I was about to leave for registering for my classes for my next semester in college. It dramatically affected me. I don't now why it had such a huge impact on me as I had certainly heard of other disasters and been affected much more personally by death. Something about it hit me very hard and I felt less safe and less innocent after it. It was the beginning of what has become a life long struggle with anxiety and I still think about it often.
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Post by Yubon Peatlejuice on Jan 27, 2016 15:08:09 GMT
Fast forward to Columbia - we had just gotten back from a cruise. The space shuttle was taking off right down the street and we wanted to stay and watch, but had to get back on the road to get home and get our kids. We drove for about half an hour and pulled over on the side of the highway (with hundreds of other drivers) and watched the liftoff. We didn't see it until it got pretty high since we were so far way, but watched until it was mostly out of sight. When we got home later that afternoon we learned that it had exploded. All of us in the car who had watched were stunned. As Americans I'm sure we were all affected, but we felt so much more connection I guess because we'd kind of been there maybe? I don't know. Both bad days. The Columbia exploded on reentry and not lift-off. Lift-off was January 16, 2003 and reentry, when the disaster occurred was February 1, 2003. So, the anniversary of that is coming up, too. Yeah that. It didn't explode until several Days after lift-off. Upon re-entry. And explode is too strong of a word. It broke apart and mostly disintegrated in the atmosphere.
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Post by myshelly on Jan 27, 2016 15:15:49 GMT
Am I reading the article correctly? It sounds like the launch was broadcast live but all of the network stations had already cut away at the time of the explosion and CNN was the only one to catch it live? Immediate replays were then played on those stations who cut away-- which would account for the memories of "watching it live".
"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."
It was live on cable (CNN) but no where else. If you didn't have cable and weren't watching CNN you didn't see it live. in 1986 relatively few people had cable tv. The major networks were on cable as well. They had moved on to other scheduled programing and weren't broadcasting the event live when it happened. So what they showed as a tape of the event. If you were watching CNN you saw it live. If you watched it on ABC, CBS or NBC you saw a tape delay. In 1986 CNN wasn't considered an important news station. It was a cable oddity belonging to that wealthy guy Ted Turner who had more money than sense. I would hazard a guess that this was a defining moment in CNN's history as a truly viable news outlet in its own right. And that the idea of 24/7 live news coverage was something people would watch. The part you quoted sounds to me like it was in fact played live in schools.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 27, 2016 15:16:26 GMT
It's hard to believe it has been 30 years. We were living in San Francisco and were driving into work when the news came on the radio. Still remember how somber the office was that day.
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Post by jengels999 on Jan 27, 2016 15:19:44 GMT
I was a senior in high school, and was in English class. They announced it over the loud speaker, and called for a moment of silence. My dad worked for NASA at the time, so I called him on the pay phone at lunch.
Janell
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Post by peano on Jan 27, 2016 15:24:55 GMT
The tv was set up on a tall rolling stand in the sales room. We all came out of the art department to watch. I remember the smoke pattern and being confused about what happened. It took me a minute to understand what happened.
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Post by Linda on Jan 27, 2016 15:28:34 GMT
I remember watching the countdown on TV in my classroom - I was in 10th grade and then the news coverage afterwards in school and later that evening at my Confirmation class
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Post by ~Lauren~ on Jan 27, 2016 15:36:57 GMT
I was driving to my office. I remember when I first heard it on the radio,I had to pull over. I was shocked. I didn't "see" the explosion until the evening news.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jan 27, 2016 15:40:52 GMT
This article over simplifies broadcast news. Some broadcast channels did show the launch live - such as this one in California: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSTrmJtHLFUI personally was in junior high. Our principal announced it over the speaker.
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