Today we mourn the astronauts of STS-51-L who launched 29 years ago aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed in catastrophic failure 73 seconds into their flight.

NASA - STS-51L (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-51L.html)

I was in fifth grade. We watched this live, and it was jarring moment. One of the runner up teachers for this mission had spoked to our class just the week before.

It was a heartbreaking experience.

I was in fifth grade. We watched this live, and it was jarring moment. One of the runner up teachers for this mission had spoked to our class just the week before.

I was in first grade at John Ross. We didn't know what to think...

This hit really close to home for us because one of our local teachers was in the top 4 to be on this flight.

I was about to open and start boarding a SWA flt to Dal when the pilot came running up the jetway and wanted out in the boarding lounge. I opened the door and we went out and saw the coverage at the point they thought they may have survived. It was hard to go back to business as usual with what was going on. The flight ended up being around 20 minutes late but nobody seemed to mind.

NASA - Day of Remembrance (http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/DOR2013/challenger/challenger.html)

Good find Kelroy. It doesn't feel like its been 29 years.

I was a senior in high school, sitting in journalism class. Our principal announced it via the intercom, mistakenly calling it the Columbia, which a number of years later became an eerily prophetic error. I skipped class for the rest of the day and watched coverage in the library, which had the only broadcast TV in the school. It was a rough day.

I was part of the crew building what used to be Colonel Drakes Number 2 restaurant over around 15th and I-35. We were nailing up the cottonwood board-and-batten siding on the east side of the structure. The news, on the radio that someone had on, was shocking to the core. The television recording I saw later that day was surreal. Stuff like that just didn't happen. It's one of those memories that is as imbedded as the days JFK, RFK, MLK and John Lennon were shot, not to mention The Murrah Building Outrage and 9-11
.