Two Accounts of the Challenger Shuttle Mishap from Reporters Who Were Not There in Person

The following two reports were given by non-eyewitnesses of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Report 1, by Tertius R.

When I was nine years old, I pretended to be sick so that my mom would allow me to stay home from school and watch soap operas with her on the television. 

So we were enjoying the scandalous storyline, when suddenly our program got interrupted by an Urgent News Report. 

“I wonder what has happened now,” said my mom; “I sure hope your father isn’t involved with this.” 

The newscaster regretted to inform us that the loud booming sound in the heavens that we are presently hearing is not a thunderstorm (mom and I now craned our necks to listen to the sky, which, sure enough, was bamming and banging with extreme violence) — “I repeat,” said the newscaster sternly, “this deafening racket is not natural thunder but rather the sound of NASA’s Challenger Shuttle exploding.” 

At this point, the network cut to a live shot of the NASA scientists in their computer-filled laboratory. They remained huddled together for a while, and then they approached the camera to deliver an official statement:

“We, the scientists, played no part in the tragedy,” they said. “But there was a schoolteacher who was aboard the shuttle — although she is now sadly blown to bits, it was all her fault. Teachers don’t belong in space; they should remain in the classroom, no matter how bad the pay is.”

Report 2: Bryan R.

Here is my account of witnessing firsthand the Space Shuttle Challenger bursting in air. 

One day, I was over at NASA base, and they were commencing a mission to explore the outer darkness. First they did a countdown: “Ten, nine, eight, etc…” and then the rocket blasted off like a gun. All of us people in the crowd looked up high and said: “Wow!” because the spaceship was all glittery like a sparkler stick. And then smoke and flames came from the two fins above its landing tires; and all of us spectators on the ground became very anxious. “I think the rocket needs some servicing,” I said, hoping that an official NASA engineer amid the crowd might hear me; “you need to get the shuttle on a maintenance plan, so that stuff like this doesn’t happen.” — Then, quickly, the damage increased, so that what was once just starry spangles matured into a detonation. We heard the sound “Pow!” and the shuttle blew up, like a firework in July. Now, all the charred rocket guts came flying down at us in the crowd, and we spectators labored to our feet while folding up our lawn chairs and attempted to run for our lives, chaotically, in every which direction. — Yes, this event marks a day that I will not easily forget. It was really quite stunning.