I watched the Challenger shuttle disaster from inside Mission Control - 40 years ago today

Forty years ago, I was at Mission Control at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for the launch of the Challenger. I was working in data communications. My job was to ensure all telemetry links between the space shuttle and NASA's ground communications system (NASCOM) were operational. Everything was green on my board, the shuttle launched, and a few seconds later, everything went to hell. I stared at my controls, tried to get things to reconnect, and then I finally looked up at the TV display.

You know what I saw. We all saw it that day.

In schools across the country, kids from kindergartners to high school students were ready to watch Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, launch into orbit. Instead, they saw a tragedy.

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By 1986 ...