Twenty years after Challenger
I remember seeing the news footage of the shuttle disaster, probably because my dad brought me to watch it. I was 5 years old, so I'm actually surprised that I can remember it, but I have memories of remembering it at 8, if that doesn't sound too weird. When the Columbia disaster happened, I knew just how I would have felt at the Challenger.
MSNBC is reporting on 7 Common Myths About the Challenger Shuttle Disaster.
Most of them are pretty boring. But Numbers 2 and 3 surprised me. Especially #3: The flight, and the astronauts' lives, did not end at that point, 73 seconds after launch.
Apparently the shuttle remained mostly intact after the main booster fell apart, though some sections of the craft were also ripped away. It's possible the crew was alive, and although unlikely, were even conscious, when the shuttle slammed back into the water at 200mph 3 minutes later. Some of the emergency air bottles in the cabin had been activated.
That's... a scary thought. And one I don't think I'll dwell on.
