CBS News Live Coverage of The Challenger Disaster Part 1

[KAReiter82]

I remember this so vividly. I was 12 years old at the time. A large snow storm had resulted in a snow day, so my brother and I flipped through the channels until we finally found the live feed on CNN. I was particularly interested, because I remember it was a nationwide contest to select the teacher to go with the astronauts. I had nominated my sixth grade principal. Even though he didn't win, I wanted to watch the launch. To this day, it has become one of those images I will never forget.

[chad6504]

@KAReiter82

I also was 12 and home sick that day. I remember watching CBS (we had only 3 channels in those days LOL) when Rather broke into the program. I think it was The Price is Right although I am not 100% sure. It also sticks in my mind to this day! Just saw the recently released video from a family filming from Orlando Airport. They were clueless what happened - must have been weird.

[bjkopec]

@chad6504 Ok...how many of us were 12 and home sick? I have the exact same story. I remember watching Price is Right at my grandmother's house when they interrupted the program to make the announcement.

[trenchnuts]

the astronauts never died. they parachuted to safety......

[alienhddna]

i was there that day when that hapend

[stas3h]

Too bad CNN was the only network doing actual LIVE coverage of the launch and explosion.

[Eyeglompyou]

Hey it's Dan Blather XD 

[boscoesarmy]

RIP.

[dzonikg]

I was kid then but very sad ,since i learn to read i read everything about space explore.

[ca247365]

I was about ten when this happened. My mom cried all day.

[sonofhendrix]

Way too cold for lift off.

[TheUduak]

Yeah, the reporting was pretty stupid! "Apparently, the vehicle exploded...", "People are confused..." Are they blind? What else could it have been (the vehicle was teleported to a different dimension in a bright flash of light and smoke)? Idiots!

[mrtrin]

@TheUduak

Considering that NASA was hurting for publicity, getting a teacher in space... there's no idea what they would've done to give the launch some extra umph.

[virtualasasn]

I watched this out side my kinder garden class room on my birthday...in aurburndale fla...Lena vista elem. I didnt know what happend...my teacher wasw in tears most of the day...and I didnt know what happen till i got home.

[jasonwalkabout]

god, i remember this.......I was in in primary school. I'm now an electrician and worked on hydraulics alot. Oring failure. disaster and engineering nightmare. RIP and thanks for your sacrifice for the 7 astronauts.

[jazzbo1974]

My understanding theres suppose to be a tape of them after the exploeson ...

[bossshark]

@jazzbo1974 No, that was a falsehood spread by tabloids.

[aimhigh59]

@jazzbo1974 A tape from inside the cockpit ?

[Tazz77]

@jazzbo1974

I've heard the same thing but I still don't know it it's true. Former astronaut, Dr. Story Musgrave says the Challenger crew were most likely alive when they hit the water.

[dakjargen]

@Tazz77 I believe anything he says. Especially when you watch the interview where he tells the guy.

[sarafinasky]

i saw the last one atlantis lift off and land outside it was cool.

[FloridaSeverWeather]

whats with the parachute? 

[sarafinasky]

they launch u out of the shuttle to escape

[FloridaSeverWeather]

@sarafinasky how didnt they survive then?

[TheGrotesqueReality]

Bruce looks like a MIB agent

[jaybee1973jaybee]

To amend my earlier post, Dan Rather was reporting from New York in this clip. See 10:23. I think that Tom Brokaw on NBC News began 1/28/86 by reporting in Washington. I believe that he had returned to New York by 6:30 p.m. for "NBC Nightly News."

[jaybee1973jaybee]

Dan Rather may be reporting from Washington, D.C. in this video clip. I believe that he was in Washington because President Reagan was to deliver the "State of the Union" address to Congress that evening (the speech ended up being postponed in light of the tragedy). I think that Rather left for New York during the day sometime and reported from New York that night, but I'm not certain of this (I have not viewed the rest of the CBS News video from 1/28/86).

[hankaaron1961]

The booster gets a parachute but the capsule doesn't. Sad.

[Rhand95]

@hankaaron1961 what capsule?

[paulsonj72]

@hankaaron1961

You are correct about President Regan and the State of the Union adress scheduled to be given that night. Instead he gave what many people consider to be his greatest speech in regards to the disaster. And I will give credit to Peggy Noonan who was one of Regans speechwriters as she wrote that particular speech.

[KellerCRD]

anyone know what the deal was with that parachute??

[djholmes86]

@KellerCRD most likely the parachute on the solid booster rocket.

[pokerrich9]

@KellerCRD paramedics...

[ZunnyONe]

DAN RATHER HAS A CRAZY EYE!!!!

[Wolfgirl1185]

When my mom was in school her teacher was one of the people who died. Sad story I almost didn't belive her... must have been sad for everyone who knew the teacher... :(

[ewd76]

Good to know that was a model he was holding.

[thatshillarious]

I can so thankfull that they wouldnt have felt a thing, rip.

[michaeldavis678]

i was in grade school when this happened and was watching this live when it exsploded the teacher immediately turned the tv off

[Julius121081]

zellco321, did you get permission from CBS to post video of their coverage?

[NaziZombieLover1]

@Julius121081 Why would u care if he did or not? lol it doesn't make a diff. to you..

[altfactor]

At 8:25 of the clip, you can see two buses in the background (behind newsman Bruce Hall) leave the VIP area at the Cape.

They probably were carrying families and friends of the astronauts.

[zellco321]

@altfactor I have thought that too.

[musicmike89]

@altfactor if you watch this video: youtube.com/watch?v=vd7dxmBLg4­8 at around 2:09 the voice over the loudspeaker says "...from flight dynamics... that the vehicle has exploded..." and is cut across by a woman shouting "can you please get on the buses". I guess these are the buses you mention!

[trisha2348]

Ad astra per aspera. Space exploration is dangerous and anyone who thinks it's suppose to by flawless everytime is kidding themselves. people make mistakes technology isn't perfect, people can and will die. This will plague us throughout our trek through the stars, now and hundreds of years from now. thats the price you pay for taking on such a dangerous pursuit. Bless the men and women who do what most will never get or attempt to do, they are the best humanity has to offer.

[MrSnakeshit420]

Yes they are shuttle buses because you have to park about 4 miles away then ride the bus to the NASA viewing grand stands..

[hoosierlooker]

The buses behind Bruce Hall, I wonder if they carried the relatives of the astronauts?

[zellco321]

@hoosierlooker Right,I have noticed that before and I have wondered the same thing.

[iti14]

@hoosierlooker The families of the astronauts were in the observation stands at the Cape watching the launch. They watched as the shuttle exploded.

Search "challenger uncut" on YouTube. There is a video that shows the live reactions of the families of the astronauts as the shuttle explodes. It's horrible...do prepare yourself first.

[TheCelebTracker]

@iti14 I saw it-awful. What was so sad was they didn't realize at first what exactly happened because I believe part of it was supposed to fall away anyway. Even when they saw there was an explosion,I think they thought there was a chance of a recovery. They may have even seen the parachute falling and thought they all ejected-I don't know. They were so clearly confused by it all-it just broke my heart...especially the elderly couple (can't remember whose parents)-the father seemed so hopeful.

[aimhigh59]

@TheCelebTracker No ejection possible on the orbiter. The chute was from one of the boosters.People who knew when things were suppose to happen knew they were dead when the boosters separated prematurely. Most people including familes had no idea that something had gone wrong until told. I watched it live at the Cape....

[TheCelebTracker]

@aimhigh59 That must have been terrible to witness that! Yes-I'm talking about the families...those in the know knew there was no chance but the families seemed confused. At first it looked like they didn't know if what they were seeing was even normal. Then when they found out it wasn't, it seems like they were still holding out hope for recovery.

It broke my heart watching the families react. I can't imagine witnessing that in person-I know you will never forget all you saw that day...

[aimhigh59]

@TheCelebTracker The families thought there was some kind of recovery effort going on but didnt know that at that point nothing could be done. I watched the families walk back into the crew quarters to be briefed. They were already crying by that time. I'll never forget both accidents and spent a lot of time on the investigations but have moved on.

[TheCelebTracker]

@aimhigh59 Gosh, that must have been tough! It was tough to watch from afar-I can't imagine how it was to be there in person.

[mrtrin]

It was always my understanding that the only people that actually carried it live was CNN. Granted I was four years old when it happened (although I do remember the challenger episode of punky brewster)

[paulsonj72]

@mrtrin

CNN was the only network that covered the launch live. By this time shuttle lanunches had become"routine" andf not worthy of breaking into regularly scheduled programing. That's why CBS wasn't on the air untill about 6 minutes after the explosion.

[mrtrin]

@paulsonj72 Ok, thanks for clearing that up.

[fedeargento83]

ONLY IN MUSIC 1986 WAS GOOD !!!!!!!

[pokewiz309]

apparently, it exploded.....

NOOOOOO, really? I would have never geussed that!

[grungyflannel]

obviously dan didnt have the video feed at his desk "the vehicle apparently exploded"...yeah dan, it blew the fuck up

[bendavis83]

This happend on my 3rd borthday.

[klp4d]

The thing that struck me was that morning there was a shot at the launch site wherre they were hosing down the shuttle, main tank and the solid rocket boosters with hot water mixed with some kind of de-icing agent, you see a sheet of ice had formed on everything at the launch site, when I seen that I thought it would be cancled again, my mind was blown when I found out later they launched anyway when they shouldn't have, I was so angry about that ..

[melissatx75]

I remember seeing it live in my classroom in 5th grade. We weree all so sad to see what happened and we had just finished talking about the teacher that was on board for her first time.

[01po01po]

NASA never should've launched that day. It was 36 degrees at launch time, thats 17 degrees below the threshold of safety to launch. They put the pressure of delays before the safety of the flight crew.........Very sad day.

[ScrappleCheesesteaks]

Thank you for posting. Hard to believe this was 1/4 century ago. Watched it live on TV in 8th grade. I still have the next day's Philadelphia Inquirer - headline simply says in bold "SHUTTLE EXPLODES".

I HAD a full tape of live ABC news footage on VHS, but someone recorded over it with the July 4th '86, Statue of Liberty reopening.

[isocrate27]

Shit, Dan rather is getting old.

[ROOKTABULA]

@isocrate27

yeah but it sure beats the alternative don't it?

>;P

[conewells]

That flight controller sounded like he was describing a chess game. And they cut away to a huge close-up of the Challenger just before it exploded. God bless those astros.

[TheAJM14]

my mom told me about this incident but i've never seen it before. that's...that's just scary. But why is there a parachute? What's even scarier, if the shuttle had been delayed so many times, they should've just stopped.

[juanvodka23]

the vehicle aparenttly exploded...

[TheRailroadFan]

actually guys, what happened that day was that weather was a factor and even a miscue on the shuttle itself, it was an o-ring that was not properly installed when the shuttle was being looked over by NASA, those that were killed in this disaster are gone, but not forgotten.

[razkowski]

I was 7. We went into the school yard to watch the launch. As a kid, you don't really know what's happening but the teachers were talking (some crying), so we knew something was wrong. Terrible day.

[Hubertblues]

@MonMonsieurBleu You are full of shit!!! your record is FAR worse than the USA read your history.

[PeachMouse1]

Hard to believe I was 11years old when this tragic incident happened...

[rsp196607]

The mission-control guy keeps talking normally for a few seconds after the explosion. He's in Houston and the launch is in Florida. Coincidence?

[stampede122]

at 1:13 you could see something odd on the outside of the right rocket booster......... like smoke that shouldn't be there...........

[Coillscath]

@stampede122 I'm not certain but that might have been condensation from it the shuttle breaking the sound barrier.

[1999wizkid]

@stampede122 there is



[dhyrumvaughn]

Not to make light of this horribly tragic even, but LOL @ 7:08 "what you have here is a reporter vamping for time..." I remember watching this and about half the class and the teacher got it, everyone else was like "what's the big deal?" Pres Reagan's speech that evening was beautiful

[djswerv07]

I was at school in 6th grade that day. They had made a big deal about this launch all year. Imagine the horror as we watched it live

[anwealde]

@djswerv07 my school didn't get CNN back then

[djswerv07]

@anwealde It was broadcast on CBS not CNN

[anwealde]

@djswerv07 CBS didn't broadcast it live, although I remember seeing it shortly after it happened on the local station as I was home that morning. you might check out msnbc dot msn dot com/id/11031097/ns/technology_­and_science-space/

[djswerv07]

@anwealde ?



[READ5458]

@ 1:08, thet left rocket booster looks like it's already leaking flame....But I thought it leaked and a split second later, the complete unit blew? I also never knew there was a parachute till now. Any thing attached?

[dhbiza]

@READ5458 It was the parachute from the solid rocket boosters, each booster would return to earth for reuse, on a parachute. The parachutes seen after the explosion were just these chutes coming back on damaged solid motor parts. Also, it started leaking immediately upon liftoff. It took about 1 minute for the flame to burn thru the o-rings and the casing of the external fuel tank.

[workshop77777]

@dhbiza He repeatedly says that the parachute is a paramedic parchuting into the area? What he on about

[addicted2tekno]

@ 10:48 oh it's a model, i didn't realize... thanks for clearing that one up Dan

[rafalweb]

Dan Rather really was a top notch journalist, too bad he had to leave the business in disgrace.

[JohnnieNaked]

@rafalweb He didn't leave, he was forced to resign because there is no freedom of the press anymore and he refused to shut up.

[dhbiza]

@rafalweb too bad he had to forge documents

[andyseaview]

i was at the dmv and they had a tv, so i watched it there, over and over, as far as the 80s being a decade of bad events, i think the last ten years were worse, there was another shuttle disaster and we had 9/11,

[pika23]

i happened to be watching CBS at the time..I was home sick from school and watching the price is right...during a wesson commercial with Barbara Mandrell got interrupted with a special report.

[StelyDn]

@pika23 I was also....

What got me was when he said, "Something went wrong.." I thought, "Well, something minor, a hiccup..." until I saw this... When I watched it, I knew, they weren't coming home...

~S~ The Challenger Crew

1-28-86 to 1-28-11 25 years later..

[algkjag]

I remember being in the first grade in Orlando, FL on that fateful day. Our lunch period ended at 11:40 am, and we exited the cafeteria to see the odd looking cloud in the sky. We had been studying the shuttle and Christa McAuliffe for weeks, and our teacher had the sense to turn on the TV as soon as we returned to class. Even at 7 years old I felt profound sadness, disbelief, and knew that I would never ever forget what I saw. RIP to the seven brave souls on board the Challenger.

[andyseaview]

i still remember where i was and the time it happened, i was in line at the dmv and their was a tv there and i watched it, at the time i was taking a class on astronomy, and was really into space flights

[sarahthediva]

I remember the day this happened,I was in elementary school after lunch our teacher told us what had happened and we had a tv in the classroom and afterward we had a few minutes of silence for the astronauts and their families we also had a prayer because I went to a Lutheran school

[lcs1956]

No, it was reported at the time as a paramedic, but it was the SRB nose cone, probably jettisoned after the Range Safety Officer blew up the SRBs.

[Sakibou]

So, what WAS the parachute about?

[firmingitup]

@Sakibou Recovery forces searching for the Challenger wreckage.

[Clarinetish90]

@Sakibou he said it was a paramedic who was parachuted into the general area.

[altfactor]

It's my understanding that the launch was broadcast live by CBS, ABC and NBC on the West Coast, where their early-morning news shows were on the air (8:37 A.M. PST; 11:37 EST).

Thus, it's possible Dan Rather anchored live coverage for the West Coast, then after a few moments announced something along the line of "We're going to pause for a second to bring the rest of the network aboard. Please stand by".

[Nexxus79]

what was the explination for the parachute at 1:50?

[altfactor]

The parachute, as best I could tell, was from the top of one of the solid rocket boosters.

A shuttle SRB is supposed to descend and splash down in the ocean (with the parachute deployed), and be recovered for reconditioning and re-use on a future mission.

But the SRB, of course, disintegrated.

[Clarinetish90]

@altfactor he said it was a paramedic who parachuted into the general area.

[Clarinetish90]

@Nexxus79 a paramedic parachuting into the general area, as rather repeated several times.

[JISINSANE1]

what a disasterous year 86 was, only 4 months after this chernobyl had a nuclear meltdown, i think there was a few more other events in 86

[zellco321]

Yes your right, The 1980's was a decade full of events. from Good to Bad.

[philritter21]

@zellco321 At least it was better than the 40s.

[chessarama]

@zellco321 The 30 years between 1960 and 1990 were probably the most life-changing years in human history.

[soxfan885]

@zellco321 the buckner incident

[chessarama]

@JISINSANE1 Such as the Mets winning the series!!

[tjrxk7]

@JISINSANE1 Well,'86 was like that. On a personal note,I remember where I was when that happened. Was watching at my job from one of the tv sets we have and every one was looking. Terrible disaster.

[dablommer]

I remember reading the USA Today the day after the Challenger explosion. Either Dan Rather or CBS had the good sense to put Dan in a "flash" studio when Challenger went up that day. They didn't carry the launch live, but were in position to get on the air in short order in the event something went wrong.

[altfactor]

@dablommer I had thought that the launch did air live in California, where the network morning shows were still in progress (8:37 A.M. PST).

Once the scope of the problem became known, the networks would probably have paused to bring the Eastern states "on board".

In the case of CBS, it's possible Dan Rather may have been anchoring the launch for the West Coast.

[altfactor]

@dablommer I believe the launch aired live on the West Coast, where the "Morning News" was in progress. An ex-girlfriend of mine who lived there at the time recalled that all three network O&O's in Los Angeles, and presumably the west coast affiliates, carried the launch live.

I don't know if Dan Rather anchored the launch for the West, and a few moments after the explosion, paused to let the rest of the network come aboard; or the launch coverage was anchored from Los Angeles.

[altfactor]

@dablommer I thought that the ill-fated launch had been broadcast live by the three major networks on the West Coast (where their morning news shows were still in progress, albiet on tape).

Thus, Dan Rather (and others who anchored the launch for the West) would have mentioned "We're going to pause for a moment to bring the rest of the network in on this tragic story...".