Launch Pad 39-B

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Launch Pad 39-B

Every once in a while something touches you so profoundly that it stays with you your entire life. Like going to Pearl Harbor, or Gettysburg, the history and the weight of importance can deeply effect you. For me it was seeing the launch pad where the shuttle Challenger took her last flight. Journaling reads:

I was in high school the day I watched the space shuttle Challenger launch off of this platform. It was a historic day, as 7 brave men and women lost their lives as the shuttle disintegrated less than 2 minutes after lift off.

When we were on the NASA tour viewing the platforms, I asked the guide to point out the challenger platform. For me, it was history coming full circle. This journey, this image is an eerie reminder of how fragile life is.

Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its flight after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff.

“We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together. The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” Ronald Reagan 1986