Challenger shuttle disaster - RAW UNCUT footage

A news cameraman was despatched to film what SHOULD have been a routine puff piece - reaction shots of the interested parties in the bleachers, at the latest shuttle launch. What he ended up filming was EXTRAORDINARY.

As the shuttle exploded, 74 seconds in, those who were familiar with launches knew their relatives and loved ones were DEAD - however, those attending their first launch initially assumed the explosion was merely separation of the vehicle's stages. Thus, as some faces became wreathed with PAIN - others were still in awe at the majesty of it all.

But as word of what had ACTUALLY happened began to spread through the crowd like a slow cancer - those faces too became angst-ridden.

Meanwhile, the cameraman carried on doing his JOB - scanning the crowd for reaction shots. When his work was aired on the evening news bulletins, it had been cut down to a few seconds of sterile clips - but this is his FULL UNCUT footage.

It is followed by a piece, recorded shortly AFTER the disaster, where British media hack Alistair Stewart interviews a young woman named Heather Couper, who was the president of the British Astronomical Association. She only JUST manages to hold herself together.

This is the most moving video I have ever seen.

For more on this, please hit:- http://damienatloppers.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/damien-on-the-challenger-disa...

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Challenger
• shuttle
• disaster
• emotion
• tragedy
• passion
• raw
• uncut
• footage

[chuzzwozzer]

The vehicle break-up happens around 0:38 right? I don't understand how people are still looking up smiling at 1:14, as if they don't know that the shuttle just exploded? Surely people can't be so thick as to not know that something just went catastrophically wrong with the Challenger? I don't believe this "it was the first time some people had seen the space shuttle launch so they didn't know what had happened" .

[davidwrightatloppers]

@chuzzwozzer But it WAS.

[Rao665]

many adventurers and explorers have died to push the boundaries of humanity. 

[littleneddygoestowar]

@chuzzwozzer The view was blocked mostly by the camera crews, couple that with the infancy of the program and the fact no launches blew up in such a very long time and thats what you got. I was there and most people thought it was the separation of the boosters, only about 20 of us knew right away at the moment of the explosion.

[hardlines4]

God help us all....

[Tykeronia]

@bvespertine I agree, it's strange to me.

[gurdykins]

Roger Boisjoly knew this shuttle and if others had listened, this disaster could have been prevented.

[BeauStinsonDotCom]

Tell me why this camera is better than some of the 1's we have today?

[XrisSmiles]

There is a point of where the Shuttle must halt its thrust to De-compress the press built up in its thrusters. The Challenger failed to do so

"in a nut-shell"

[KJT922010T]

man, I remember my dad telling me about seeing it as we live 90 miles south of the Cape. He said all he could say was "Oh My God"

[KBEnext]

I'm so glad that my cousin that lives California goes to a school named challenger that honors these people

[shawso7]

youtube.com/watch?v=juaKc1sxSy­M&feature=related

In depth analysis of parachute said 'paramedic bailing out over the scene 12.5-28miles off shore'

1) PARACHUTE TOO BIG at that distance & WRONG TYPE for a controlled descent.

2) Parachute (excluding "paramedic" or cargo) can be seen clearly @12.5-28miles off shore? Yet Dan said @0:23 parachute is part of a "live picture from CAPE CANAVERAL,FL"

3) RESCUE HELICOPTERS NEVER WASTE TIME gaining altitude just to parachute in to water crash site.

[mlc2005]

@DWINC: What a beautiful comment sir! I was also 10 years old, here in the US, when it happened, and it's one of those "never forget" childhood memories. Just total shock and sadness. I didn't know it had such an impact on so many people around the world.