The Energon Pub

by **megatran** » Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:52 pm

This month marks the 40th anniversary commemoraton of the Challenger disaster. Shuttle exploded just over a minute into the launch. Seven lives were lost.

For those who were around in the 80's, do you remember what you were doing as it happened?

Living in Australia, I saw it the next day at a friend's house. They had a beaut big color tv. We had only an unreliable B&W tv that would flicker. When school term 1 started, we made a thousand paper cranes.

As sad as this event was, it started my interest in space & space rockets.

by **Psycho Warrior** » Wed Jan 14, 2026 12:08 pm

Wasn't quite old enough for it. I didn't even know it happened until I joined this site and that was around highschool.

by **megatran** » Wed Jan 14, 2026 10:01 pm

To commemorate, I'll be aiming to make a thousand paper cranes by January 28. Same as what our school did 40 years ago.

Psycho Warrior wrote:Wasn't quite old enough for it. I didn't even know it happened until I joined this site and that was around highschool.

Tragically, Columbia followed suit in 2003 upon re-entry to Earth. All seven crew perished.
There is no emergency rapid escape system. A fatal flaw in the design of the space shuttle that put the program out of commission.

by **megatran** » Thu Jan 29, 2026 8:51 pm

Managed to get a thousand paper cranes done. A small contribution to remember the lives lost.

by **megatran** » Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:05 pm

TV news channel showed the footage of that fateful day. Looking at it from an adult lens, the astronauts were clearly seen wearing adult nappies. Of course, having to be in the space suit & strapped to the seat for long hours prior to lift off meant you just can't pop into the rest room.

School teacher Crista McAuliffe was chosen as the 'lucky' entrant to inspire a generation of school kids. The short video clip then panned over to the horrified look on school kids faces when the shuttle exploded. Some were clearly visibly distraught, some balling their eyes out. Coincidently, the 40th anniversary commemoration video also had president Ronald Reagan, who was the 40th american president at the time.