I was in my house out in the country in Oklahoma... we had satellite TV and I was on the floor watching NASA tv... I remember being frustrated by delays in the countdown... Finally the clock hit zero... I listened to the announcement of 'liftoff!' and the engines ignited- I felt so envious! I watched the massive structure rise slowly off the ground... I litened with half an ear to the NASA spokesman calmly read off telemetry... Mainly I just watched the spectacle, it was fascinating...

Then the shuttle dissolved into billowing clouds... The solid rocket boosters twisted off on their own.. Many here have made the comparison to 9-11, The reason for that comparison is not because the actual EVENTS were similar, but because the events were LIVED by so many of us at the same time.... in essence- WE WERE THERE...

As I took in the explosion, part of me knew with sort of a chilling numbness that a terrible tragedy was happening. Another part of me hadnt caught up with what I knew had happened- I remember thinking in a stunned way "Booster separation shouldn't look like that!" I didnt completely accept the fact that this was a disaster for a few seconds- when the NASA spokesman paused and finally said something to the effect that there had been a serious malfunction...
I was stunned, I watched for a little longer and then went upstairs to the library to tell my mother... She was stunned as well...

The reason it compares to the 9-11 disaster for me is I remember watching the two towers in flames- live... The camera was focussed on the top of the first tower to fall... Then suddenly the tower started to slide down off the bottom of the screen... part of me knew what was happening, I felt the same cold numbness again... and again, part of me took a moment to grasp the reality- I remember thinking "WHY is the camera panning up....?"

The Columbia disaster was equal to the Challenger as an EVENT, but in a way more distant... In SOME ways it was a less of a body blow... we heard about it as a news bulletin We didnt watch it together and see it unfold before our eyes...

After the initial blow, the 2 shuttle disasters were the same in most ways... You should look at this site's "Columbia" page and look at the posts that were made here when the Columbia disaster happened-

Go to the columbia page and click on "condolences"

I hope this helps you in your assignment... I am glad you got such an assignment, and that you found this place... We can call those that die in defense of an ideology or a country heroes, but those that die to advance humanity deserve an even greater status...