As CNN correspondent Tim Mintier and a NASA official narrated, Space Shuttle Challenger lifted into the sky on Jan. 28, 1986.
CNN was the only news network covering the launch live from Kennedy Space Center in Fla.
Their words were punctuated by long pauses of silence when the screen showed what looked like an explosion.
“Obviously, a major malfunction,” the NASA official said.
“They’re holding their breath just as I am sure everyone else is,” Mintier said.
The NASA official then says the dreaded words, “We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded. … We are looking at, checking with the recovery forces to see what can be done at this point.”
Today is the 35th anniversary of the loss of Space Shuttle Challenger and its seven crew members.
Just 73 seconds into its mission on Jan. 28, 1986, the shuttle was violently torn apart, sending the crew to their death – Francis R. Scobee, mission commander; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Mike J. Smith, pilot; Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist; and Christa McAuliffe, teacher in space and payload specialist.
President Ronald Reagan, who had planned to give a State of the Union address that day but canceled it, said, “For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we’re thinking about you so very much.
Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, ‘Give me a challenge and I’ll meet it with joy.’ They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.”
