[mercurykid]

I worked for Turner Broadcasting when Challenger was lost. I can remember the morning as though it was yesterday. As a member of the info tech dept (we managed the phones and computers throughout the TBS/CNN domain in Atlanta) I sometimes spent a few minutes in the newsroom to watch the proceedings, especially during special events like a manned shuttle launch.

At the time, our CNN operation and newsroom was located in the basement of an old country club near downtown Atlanta. CNN was barely six years old, still trying to find a niche in the global news realm, and running on a shoestring budget. On that January 1986 morning, we were the only remaining TV network still covering the shuttle launches live from KSC; the launches had become so routine that the big three American networks broadcast game shows, local programming, and such.

John Holiman, CNN's science correspondent had usually narrated each launch live from the Cape, but as I said, the launches had become so routine that CNN chose to have him describe the events from our Atlanta studio.

The actual launch took place and the shuttle climbed as we had seen many times before. Holiman made some brief comments on the progress, letting the scene unfold as usual. Then the Challenger blew up.

I remember seeing the event unfold on some of the monitors in the newsroom; our little IT shop was located in the very back of the newsroom, so we had a clear vantage of what was transpiring within the room....

At first, Holiman seemed confused by what was happening, especially with the two SRB's emerging from the fireball of the exploded fuel tank and shuttle. He then noted that something seemed to have gone wrong. The newsroom was silent. Everyone was watching the monitors (some 75 people or so). After a few moments, the place erupted. People were shouting across the newsroom, some gasping, others calling into microphones to get the CNN on site reporter's attention... The place was chaotic. Bob Furnad, CNN's senior producer shouted over the din calling for quiet and professionalism.

Above several desks in the newsroom were banks of tv monitors that showed what was being broadcast by the other networks. Within moments each network had interrupted their programming with live coverage of the unfolding event.

The rest of the day progressed with countless replays of pictures showing icicles hanging off of the launch pad gantry, shuttle, and the SRBs (pictures taken earlier that morning prior to launch time). And... the actual launch was shown over and over from various angles. Speculation on what had caused the disaster ran the gamut, with some speculation being close to what eventually had happened. Early on, the weather had been suspected to be a contributing factor to the accident.

It was a day I'll never forget, being close to the event in a way that most other folks could never be.