Dying Man Shares Unseen Challenger Video

[YosemiteSam]

The link below is to the actual story and video, but it's being hammered so hard that it doesn't load right now. You will have to wait till later. The text below is from a site reporting this site's story.

LINK

Found a mirror of it (though it slow too!)

An amateur video of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has been made public for the first time. The Florida man who filmed it from his front yard on his new Betamax camcorder turned the tape over to an educational organization a week before he died this past December. The Space Exploration Archive has since published the video into the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the catastrophe. Despite being shot from about 70 miles from Cape Canaveral, the shuttle and the explosion can be seen quite clearly. It is unclear why he never shared the footage with NASA or the media. NASA officials say they were not aware of the video, but are interested in examining it now that it has been made available."

 

[Cajuncowboy]

The link below is to the actual story and video, but it's being hammered so hard that it doesn't load right now. You will have to wait till later. The text below is from a site reporting this site's story.

LINK

Found a mirror of it (though it slow too!)

An amateur video of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has been made public for the first time. The Florida man who filmed it from his front yard on his new Betamax camcorder turned the tape over to an educational organization a week before he died this past December. The Space Exploration Archive has since published the video into the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the catastrophe. Despite being shot from about 70 miles from Cape Canaveral, the shuttle and the explosion can be seen quite clearly. It is unclear why he never shared the footage with NASA or the media. NASA officials say they were not aware of the video, but are interested in examining it now that it has been made available."

Man, I love all things NASA and space related. Looking forward to seeing the video when the site is a bit less congested.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

Man, I remember that pretty well. Growing up outside of Orlando, we used to go outside of our school and watch the shuttles go up. That was certainly not what we expected on that particular day.

 

[CliffnDallas]

'That's trouble of some kind, George.'

Ya. think...

 

[YosemiteSam]

Man, I remember that pretty well. Growing up outside of Orlando, we used to go outside of our school and watch the shuttles go up. That was certainly not what we expected on that particular day.

I was in my home room class in Junior High when it happen. The teacher pulled out a TV so we could watch it. I think that had to be the first time I was ever seriously stun by something like that happen.

Even Regan getting shot didn't stun me like that, but then again I was around 5 years younger when he was shot.

 

[theebs]

I was in my home room class in Junior High when it happen. The teacher pulled out a TV so we could watch it. I think that had to be the first time I was ever seriously stun by something like that happen.

Even Regan getting shot didn't stun me like that, but then again I was around 5 years younger when he was shot.

I was in 4th or 5th grade I cant remember, but we had the tv in our room watching it too. One of the astronauts was a teacher from mohawk which was a local area and so it was a big deal.

I remember my teacher having no idea what to say.

 

[Signals]

I remember exactly where I was that day when I heard to news. I went and listened to this afterwards.

Rush Countdown

BTW the mirror link is working pretty well now.

[youtube]FieBKhHhDwQ[/youtube]

 

[Hostile]

I was in a camera shop with my 35 mm camera. The shop keeper and I watched it together, and cried together. It was just the 2 of us talking there for about an hour.

 

[Concord]

The link below is to the actual story and video, but it's being hammered so hard that it doesn't load right now. You will have to wait till later. The text below is from a site reporting this site's story.

LINK

Found a mirror of it (though it slow too!)

An amateur video of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has been made public for the first time. The Florida man who filmed it from his front yard on his new Betamax camcorder turned the tape over to an educational organization a week before he died this past December. The Space Exploration Archive has since published the video into the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the catastrophe. Despite being shot from about 70 miles from Cape Canaveral, the shuttle and the explosion can be seen quite clearly. It is unclear why he never shared the footage with NASA or the media. NASA officials say they were not aware of the video, but are interested in examining it now that it has been made available."

Nice find...I love stuff like that.

I was on my way to college.

I had a Betamax too.

My parents still have it.

It was better than VHS.

 

[Faerluna]

I was in high school in the theater watching it on the TVs. We were all in stunned silence.

 

[Scranton Tiger]

I watched it at my Dad's house. Tore my knee up that previous summer and had a pass to leave school for a rehab session. Went by my Dad's after rehab to watch the launch before heading back to school. Like everyone else, I was shocked. Never did make it back to class.

Just specualtion since I haven't seen it yet, but maybe this video gives a better look at the crew compartment as the shuttle came apart. I remember reading some stuff about a year or so after the accident that the crew compartment survived the break up at least partially intact and maybe almost completely in tact. Because of that, at least a few of the crew (maybe all) survived the intial break up. However, at that time, the comaprtment didn't have any parachutes or ejection seats, so the impact with the water is what killed the crew. Not the explosion.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I just now was able to see that video for the first time.

My heart is in the pit of my stomach again, just like it was that day, hoping that history would somehow change.

It didn't.

 

[Doomsday101]

I was out looking for a job, had just been laid off from an oil company I was working for and heard the news in my car, I went home immediately

The most recent one Columbia I was at the golf course and actually herd the boom but did not think anything of it then seconds later I got a phone call from a family member that Columbia and burnt up on re-enter. 4 days before I was at the Kennedy space center where we were hoping to see the landing but due to bad weather they had to delay the landing. We could hear them talking with the astronaut about the delay on the PA system at the space center. Then a 4 days later they were all gone.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Amazing footage. Hopefully this will prompt more people with home videos shot of this event to come forward. If they exist.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

It seems odd to me that he would hold onto the footage until he's on his deathbed?

It's not like it would of been controversial to come forward with it, and with the weeks and weeks of coverage regarding investigations as to the cause, it seems really irresponsible.

He even comments towards the end of the tape how he knew he had captured something "historical".

Something doesn't add-up.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

It seems odd to me that he would hold onto the footage until he's on his deathbed?

It's not like it would of been controversial to come forward with it, and with the weeks and weeks of coverage regarding investigations as to the cause, it seems really irresponsible.

He even comments towards the end of the tape how he knew he had captured something "historical".

Something doesn't add-up.

I kinda thought the same thing then I thought, "He sounds like an older guy and probably didn't think it was important to anything."

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I kinda thought the same thing then I thought, "He sounds like an older guy and probably didn't think it was important to anything."

How could he not!? Plus, if that was the case, why come forward with it now?

 

[big dog cowboy]

why come forward with it now?

Ummmm......because he was about to die?

 

[bbgun]

The vid wasn't that great. Won't tell us anything we didn't already know.

 

[Phoenix]

Was stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany, active duty Air Force. Some in my squadron were on a ski week vacation in Kitzbuhel, Austria for the week, staying in a hostel. Got back to the hostel that day, after skiing all day, and were were eating dinner together there. Someone turned on the hostel's little 10" or so black and white TV in the kitchen area we were in, and there it was....we all ate and watched in stunned silence.