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What a day. I vividly remember it. I was at work. It was morning. Suddenly I remembered that day was a shuttle launch, and in those days there was a 900 number

What a day. I vividly remember it. I was at work. It was morning. Suddenly I remembered that day was a shuttle launch, and in those days there was a 900 number (yes, 900) you could call called "Dial-a-Shuttle" and so I dialed it. From my desk at work. All it did was connect you to the official audio feed of NASA. Which on launch days meant you heard the same audio that you'd hear if you were watching NASA-TV. I dial. It rings. It connects. There's staticky air, like a radio signal that is quiet, nobody talking on it, but the mic is hot. Suddenly a voice says, "Roger, go at throttle up." Then there is a click, a strange click sound, which to this day I shudder to recall. A loud clicking sound like someone turned off a switch. A very long pause, and then the voice of NASA saying something like "well obviously we've had a malfunction"... and over the next minute or three it becomes clear that the shuttle exploded within 5 seconds of my dialing Dial-A-Shuttle. I heard the "Roger, go at throttle-up" and ... the click. I've never forgotten the moment.

tragomaskhalos 12y ago
I have a (rather morbid) book containing cockpit voice recording transcripts from plane crashes, and it includes the Challenger transcript. Directly after that "roger go at throttle up", pilot Michael Smith says "Uh Oh", the final thing it captures. There is nothing else to indicate they were aware of any problem, which is some consolation I suppose.
- Asparagirl 12y ago
  "The separation of the crew compartment deprived the crew of Orbiter-supplied oxygen, except for a few seconds supply in the lines. Each crew member's helmet was also connected to a personal egress air pack (PEAP) containing an emergency supply of breathing air (not oxygen) for ground egress emergencies, which must be manually activated to be available. Four PEAP's were recovered, and there is evidence that three had been activated." In other words, at least some of the astronauts may have survived the initial explosion, although they likely lost consciousness in the two minutes and forty-five seconds before the crew compartment hit the water. Source: http://www.spaceacts.com/howdied.htm http://www.spaceacts.com/howdied.htm

tragomaskhalos 12y ago

I have a (rather morbid) book containing cockpit voice recording transcripts from plane crashes, and it includes the Challenger transcript. Directly after that "roger go at throttle up", pilot Michael Smith says "Uh Oh", the final thing it captures. There is nothing else to indicate they were aware of any problem, which is some consolation I suppose.

Asparagirl 12y ago
"The separation of the crew compartment deprived the crew of Orbiter-supplied oxygen, except for a few seconds supply in the lines. Each crew member's helmet was also connected to a personal egress air pack (PEAP) containing an emergency supply of breathing air (not oxygen) for ground egress emergencies, which must be manually activated to be available. Four PEAP's were recovered, and there is evidence that three had been activated." In other words, at least some of the astronauts may have survived the initial explosion, although they likely lost consciousness in the two minutes and forty-five seconds before the crew compartment hit the water. Source: http://www.spaceacts.com/howdied.htm http://www.spaceacts.com/howdied.htm