THE DENVER POST Sunday, February 2, 2003 CO L U M B IA I S L O ST ★★ 9A REACTION IN DENVER Dreams ‘I thought, “Here we go again.” I was in sixth grade when Challenger exploded, fall back so I remembered it right away. We take it for granted when a shuttle lands or to Earth takes off, but what an ac- complishment it is each NASA officials and the time it happens. It’s not just friends and families of the space shuttle astronauts were a U.S. loss, it’s a global standing along the landing strip loss.’ at Cape Canaveral, their eyes trained on the skies Saturday — Matt Arleth, 28, of Westmin- morning. They were proud, ster excited, exuberant. It was supposed to be the ‘I immediately thought it glorious finale of a “perfect” might be terrorists. I flight, another proud achieve- ment in a land where scientific thought there might be a breakthroughs seem common- potential for that. I’m glad place, where nothing is impossi- they ruled it out.’ ble. Then the bright streak of light — John Markey, 29, of Denver broke into two, voice and data communication was silenced. In ‘It’s tragic that these peo- a matter of seconds, seven astronauts ple are lost. But today, and the we’re not as shocked by piece of all these things. An hour after of us they learning about it, we’re de- carried with them ciding which denims to were lost. buy. It’s space travel. It’s to The long, be expected.’ white, eerie descent of — Jeff Korhonen, 31, of Denver the space shuttle ‘Our generation has had Columbia Diane — from the so many Carman edge of Associated Press / Tara Bricking tragedies. outer space Valerie Kehr, left, comforts her daughter, Julia, 9, as they join her son, Joseph, 7, at the gravesite of teacher Christa McAuliffe at Blossom Hill When we to the dusty Cemetery in Concord, N.H. McAuliffe was among seven astronauts killed in the space shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. parking lots and backyards and were fields around East Texas — young, we took us all down, down, down didn’t with it. have trage- First came horror and disbe- dies. The lief. You could see it in the face Challenger memories revived of NASA administrator Sean Challenger O’Keefe as he struggled to keep was the his voice steady and explain MEMORIES from Page 1A first big what had happened. Hult Then there was a rush of he knew almost without doubt that tragedy in sadness as brave, feisty former the seven astronauts were dead. our lives.’ astronaut Buzz Aldrin came to “I guess I’m just older and wis- tears on national television. er,” said Boothby, now 27. — Lynn Hult, 32, of Castle Rock And then, as dawn shimmered The Challenger explosion redi- into the harsh light of day, the rected the course of his life. “Be- ‘As a kid, the Challenger hard truth began to emerge. fore that I wanted to be an astro- disaster was unreal for me. This 88th shuttle mission since naut. After that, I wanted to be an the disastrous Challenger explo- engineer to make things safer.” But with each succeeding sion was a failure, our failure. An electronics and audio engi- tragedy, I feel less and less And it came at a time when we neer at Kyocera Wireless Corp.’s shocked. There’s some so needed success. design center in Boulder, Boothby sense that I should feel The whole history of the helps design hands-free cellphones space program is one of auda- to make highway travel safer. more about this one. It’s cious risk and adventure amid Boothby’s teacher in 1986, Bill not that I care less. It’s just mundane global conflict and Dennler, said Saturday that he had that events like this have human vulnerability. Hope felt a deep connection to the Chal- become more common for amid fear. lenger astronauts. It was during the height of One of them, 38-year-old Christa our generation.’ the Cold War in 1957 that the McAuliffe, was a science teacher, — Joshua Love, 28, of Denver Soviets launched Sputnik. Amer- just like him. icans were stunned. We thought The students and teachers had their sights were aimed at Wash- been in Florida almost a week be- ‘I heard ington, D.C. And here they were cause of launch delays. Sending about the shooting for the moon. Challenger on its way to space was shuttle, “In some new way, the sky all that remained to complete the and I felt seemed almost alien,” then-Sen. experience. Lyndon Johnson said. A newspaper account described so bad. I Americans began a frenzy of how Dennler had removed his cap feel de- scientific development. Improv- and clutched it to his chest when ing education — especially in pressed. the shuttle broke apart. science and technology — be- It’s so sad Associated Press file photo / Bruce Weaver The Denver Post / Andy Cross came a national security imper- “We couldn’t really show our emotions because we had to keep for the ative. Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff from Phillip Boothby holds a copy of a families. Every child was taught to it together for the kids,” he re- Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986. A panel appointed by 1986 article in The Denver Post dream of a future that was called Saturday. President Reagan concluded the accident was caused by faulty about him and five classmates Every Giomi brave and limitless. But when he got back to the ho- O-rings in the shuttle’s booster rockets, a problem that was made who traveled to Florida for the time I It was in 1969, the depths of tel in Cocoa Beach, he took a long worse by unusually cold weather at liftoff. ill-fated Challenger liftoff. study the Vietnam War, that Neil walk on the beach — the fireball’s smoke still lingering in the sky. space, I feel like I’m part of Armstrong walked on the moon, Two CU experiments were on “I think it is like the air comes The Challenger explosion was helping us transcend our earth- “That’s when my emotions it.’ turned loose,” said Dennler, who re- board the Challenger, which includ- out of your body,” she said. “And the first shared disaster for a gen- ly angst. ed a CU alumnus on its crew, Elli- it’s like if you hold it in long eration of Coloradans, including We were brave and powerful tired three years ago. — Michael Giomi, 14, of Denver Saturday morning he got the son Onizuka. enough, it won’t be true.” Lynn and Chris Hult of Castle and triumphant. Weren’t we? Rock, both 32. Space has always been the news from the Internet. Shore was in the VIP bleachers Former state Sen. Cliff Dodge ‘We take for granted how said he had dinner with Lorna Oni- Said Chris Hult: “You wouldn’t place for dreams. If you have “I’m always aware of when they with astronaut family members. think it would happen again. It easy it is, with all of our launch and when they land,” he zuka and spouses of other Challeng- the intellect, the courage, the “There had been such pride and doesn’t give me a lot of confidence said. “I guess that’s a carryover of er astronauts in Florida a few technology, for things to go right stuff, this is where you go. jubilance,” he said. “It was the joy in the . space program.” seeing one not make it.” nights before the launch. wrong. We lost seven he- You send back a picture of a of space travel, which was still an “As a kid, the Challenger disas- Roy Shore, a retired Greeley phy- planet that seems small and exciting thing back then. I imag- “Everybody understood there ter was unreal for me,” said roes today.’ sician, said he thought immediate- precious. Then you return to the ined (Saturday) how that joy were risks,” he said, “but I don’t Joshua Love, 28, of Denver, who loving embrace of a grateful ly of the families when his wife think anybody imagined what actu- — Steve Lee, curator of planetary turned to horror for these fami- was shopping at Cherry Creek people. told him of the Columbia explosion ally happened. In space flight you science, Denver Museum of Nature & lies.” Mall on Saturday morning. “But Science The search to discover extra- Saturday. “It’s a horrifying deja vu naturally think the critical time is with each succeeding tragedy, I terrestrial life and the vastness experience.” Lorna Onizuka, the widow of the the launch. That’s where things go feel less and less shocked.” of the universe is in all of us. Shore, chairman of the Universi- Challenger crew member, said to- wrong, not re-entry. (Columbia as- ‘When you think about It’s the quest to understand ty of Colorado Board of Regents in day will be emotionally tougher tronauts) were about to land, so Denver Post staff writers Julia the first one, you remember ourselves and who we really 1986, had gone to Cape Canaveral than Saturday, as disbelief sub- this is even more horrifying and Martinez and Howard Pankratz the first teacher in space. are in the grand scheme. with state officials. sides into reality. unexpected.” contributed to this report. It’s why when the ship carry- She humanized space travel ing our crew is lost we all feel for a lot of us.