The Challenger Exploded 29 Years Ago Today

Photo courtesy of NASA

I remember the sickening feeling in my stomach as I watched the new coverage. The shuttle program had ran flawlessly for so long, I think we'd all forgotten just how dangerous space travel is. It had been a while since there had been a tragedy of this magnitude at NASA. I remember looking at the crowd and seeing the reaction of the family members and school children in attendance. I couldn't even begin to imagine the agony they were in when they realized what had just happened.

On January 28, 1986, my father was in the hospital. He'd just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was stuck in the hospital bed and watched the news all day long. He had watched it so many times he could tell you the exact moment it was going to explode.

Daddy was fascinated with the space program. Growing up, he would wake us kids up to watch every launch, and call us home during the day to watch every splashdown. Had he been alive when the shuttle program was scrapped, I have a feeling he'd have been furious.

Every January 28th I think about the lives that were lost that day, and those that changed forever ... and I can't think about the Challenger Disaster without thinking of father.