Space Forum / Shuttle / January 2006

"Jim Oberg" wrote in message ...

Hi,

It was a "feed" that we saw it on, but unfortunetly I don't know/remember
the particulars.   However, I can say with full certainty that it wasn't one
of the "Good Morning, America" broadcasts that I remember being common with
morning shuttle launches back in the 80's.

The scene of which we had the broadcast on wasn't a classroom with students
all sitting attentively at their desks watching a TV, but rather in the
library doing non-related work with a TV in the "background" for anyone that
cared to watch the launch.   We were in the library primarily to make use of
library resource materials.   We all had these jars of water that we had put
put grass and weeds into weeks prior and allowed to basically "ferment".
Between making use of the library material and a few microscope "stations",
we were basically there just to draw sketches of plant and animal cells.
(Those jars smelled something awful!)  The launch was more or less just
something abstract in the background, a welcomed distraction as it attracted
the attention of our teacher, a few other teachers, the vice-principal, and
a handful of the more interested students.   With the teachers distracted
and being able to freely roam around the library, working in groups (sharing
color pencils), it was more of a social hour for the rest of us than
anything else.

Our middle school had some sort of "educational video feed", which I think
was run by the state.  I don't know if it came in through coax or satellite
at the time.   I do know that there was a dedicated "A/V room" in the
library dedicated for it though.  The room also housed many TV's (on carts)
and those big, bulky, VHS recorders that schools loved in the 80's.   The
individual classrooms didn't have coax outlets, so the standard convention
for teachers was to record programs in the "A/V room" and then wheel the
TV's carts into the classrooms.  For the launch, the teachers had pulled a
TV cart into the library area and had a coax cable running from it into the
"A/V room".

While roaming around the library, I did go up to the group watching the
broadcast a few times during the countdown.  I remember them having a
conversation about the previous delays.  At the moment of the actual launch,
however, I was sitting back at my table with my group.

For most of us, I think we regarded the launch as just something routine.
Nothing out of the ordinary nor anything to get excited over.   Even the
idea of a civilian teacher being onboard didn't seem all that extraordinary.
In our sixth grade minds, going up on a shuttle certaintly doesn't involve
anything more than just "putting on a space suit, strapping yourself in, and
pushing a few computer buttons".   Sure, the technology was interesting, but
to show too much interest in it would make you look "nerdy" to your peers.
Besides, this is 1986 -- smooth sailing -- technology is going to come
automatically from here on.   In the year 2000, people will be living on the
Moon and humans will be starting to explore Mars.

From the vantage point of my table, I had a slightly obstructed view of the
TV.  I was looking over the shoulder of one of the kids up by the TV.  From
were we were, we couldn't hear the audio.   Neither our group or the groups
seated in tables around us were having a conversation regarding the shuttle,
except for a few remarks when it launched.   I remember one kid in our group
saying "There they go" and a girl in a group next to us saying, "If you
think you are so smart, you should be on that space shuttle!" to a boy in
his group.  (He was probably doing something flirtatious.)  My main thoughts
were on a girl too.  There was this dimple-cheeked extraverted girl that sat
in front of me in the classroom, so I was mainly wanting to just get out of
the library and back into the classroom so I could sit behind her and
daydream.  I didn't even want to go lunch because the smells coming out of
those jars was sickening.

At the moment of the disaster, I wasn't looking up at the TV, but quickly
looked in that direction after hearing a "group gasp" coming from that
direction.   I thought that something had happened in the room.  Perhaps the
TV cart was tipping over or something.  The thought that it was something
with the shuttle didn't even cross my mind.  It wasn't until after I stood
up a few seconds later and saw the cloud did I realize what had happened.
Even in the sixth grade, when seeing that cloud, we knew instantly that the
shuttle and crew were gone.

The principal came in a few minutes later and had them turn the TV off.   He
had very strong "Italian features", wore fine-tailed suits, and had a
fondness for discipline (making students do pushups for infractions was one
of his favorite methods), so naturally our overly-active imagination kept
the rumor that he was "Mafia" well alive.  We left the library some ten
minutes or so earlier than planned, returned our jars and folders to the
classroom, and then headed to the cafeteria for lunch.  I don't think there
were many (if any) other classrooms watching the launch broadcast since many
of the other students (and teachers) first learned what had happened from
our group that had been in the library.  During lunch, the principal made an
announcement to the student body, using a podium/microphone in the
cafeteria, of what had happened and asked for a moment of silence.

What I saw in the library of the launch did seem to be "raw".  There was no
commentary.  I also remember that at the bottom of the screen there was a
text scroller that was giving the time of upcoming shows (all educational
stuff) to be broadcasted later in the day.

I can't say with full certainty, but my best guess is that it was likely
"NASA TV" (was that around back then?) being piped into the "feed" that the
school received.   I do know will full certainty that there weren't any
commercial breaks during the hour leading up to it, at least none that I saw
anyway.  It seemed "raw" and straight forward.  It wasn't until that night,
on regular broadcast TV, did I see the replay after replay after replay of
the moment of disaster.

Wish I could fully answer your question of what the actual source was, but
unfortunetly can only describe how it was delivered. :/

-Eric