Personal Narrative-Backward Launch Of The Space Program

In 1986, the world experienced a tragedy that had lasting effects on many people, myself included. While at the young age of nine years old at the time, I can still remember that day as though it was yesterday. That day, schools had closed in my county due to snow. I was home, flipping through the television when I came across a news broadcast about the impending launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. I do not remember if I had knowledge of the space program before that day, but something that day piqued my interest. As I sat watching the television, hearing the stories, mainly revolving around Christa McAuliffe, I could feel the tensions rise within myself as the clock moved closer to launch. As T-0 approached, my excitement built by the second, and then it happened. The rockets and engines ignited, and the massive machine slowly began to rise. As I watched the flames course from the rockets, an addiction formed, one which, at the time I did not know would have a life changing impact. I was hooked on the space program. 73 seconds into that flight, as we all know, tragedy struck, and the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in flight.
Fast-Forward a little over two years. During the summer of 1988, my …show more content…
I remember walking into the classroom and immediately asking the teacher if we would get to see the launch, and she assured me that we would. We have to bear in mind that this was 1998. Televisions were not in every classroom, so they had to be brought in on those large rolling carts. As the day progressed, we listened to a ham radio which our teacher had brought in and tuned into a Cape Canaveral frequency which allowed us to monitor communications between the shuttle crew and Cape Canaveral. These conversations were fascinating, but as we got closer to launch time, no television arrived in the classroom. My anxiety grew and turned into the second heartbreak of the