January 28, 1986. This was the spring semester of my Freshman year of high school. This time stands out to me because that Christmas Break, the high school caught fire and was severely damaged. We ended up having an extended break while the district arranged for the trailers to be bought to the site of the campus to be converted to classrooms while the new New Caney High School building & campus was constructed. I was home this day while my dad was at work, my mother was in the hospital, and my sister was at school. I was watching as the shuttle launched and then exploded just over a minute and 13 sec into its flight. It didn't seem real and I remember all sorts of speculation on the news that day and evening regarding what could have caused the Challenger to explode.
Years later, during the summer of 2003, I participated in the first of what would be two summer terms with the Ronald E. McNair Scholar's Program that was established in honor of Ronald McNair, the second African American astronaut to fly in space, and a victim of the Challenger accident.
RIH STS-51-L. Commander #DickScobee, Pilot #MichaelJSmith, Mission Specialists #EllisonSOnizuka, #JudithAResnik and #RonaldEMcNair, and Payload Specialists #GregoryJarvis and Teacher #ChristaMcAuliffe
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