22 years ago I was in 8th Grade

[peruna81]

I was on an airplane on final approach to Orlando International Airport...at that time the pilot came over the intercom and said to look out the port side of the airplane, that the shuttle Challenger had launched. It had become such a routine occurence that most of the folks on the flight didn't even look. Guessing that we were around Ocala area( 70 linear miles from KSC), because as I looked you could clearly see the plumes from the SRBs. I got back to whatever I was doing, and just before landing the pilot came back on and said there had been an abort. Everyone looked this time.

The SRB plumes after the explosion made a crazy pattern in the sky that seemed to last forever into the afternoon.

Godspeed, Challenger.