Remembering “The Challenger” Rocket 30 years later
Thursday marks a solemn remembrance day for NASA. 30 years ago the “Challenger” Rocket exploded shortly after take-off killing all seven astronauts were on board. Ultimately it is an event that nobody will ever forget but according to NASA, they’ve learned a lot from the incident.
Keith Koehler has worked for NASA since 1978 and was there when it all happened. He says he had the day off but was called in shortly after to prepare everything to pay respects the next day.
47 ABC spoke with Koehler and he says, “I think with the challenger accident for me I think it’s really recognizing again those folks and everything that they gave.”
Koehler has seen the good and he’s seen the bad but he’ll remember the Challenger. He tells 47 ABC, “Any time you have an accident everybody gets that somber attitude I guess or look about themselves for a few minutes anyway and then you realize you know you have to recover from that and move on.”
Koehler says it also makes NASA pause to think about how they can prevent this from happening again. He tells 47 ABC, “There’s going to be accidents I mean every Rocket is very complicated I mean your automobile breaks down at times. And I think we recognize that and so we want to really look at the quality of what we’re doing and the checks and balances of everything that we do.”
Koehler says there were errors made by everyone involved but the important thing is to make changes to ensure it doesn’t happen again. He tells 47 ABC, “NASA is doing something new every day whether it be manned or unmanned and it’s really lead everybody to think about those processes that we go through in order to do our jobs.”
As for lessons learned, Koehler says NASA has since changed the way they manage different projects. But one thing is for certain, these astronauts will never be forgotten. Among the seven on board was Sharon Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe was not only an astronaut but a teacher as well that seemingly touched the hearts of students right here on Delmarva.
29 years ago Fruitland Primary School students placed a memorial plaque outside of the school to honor her along with a time capsule which sits about three feet below ground. But the question is, which class put it there and what’s inside?
These are just a few questions current Principal Dave Harris has and he’s asking for the publics help. Harris tells us he has been very tempted to dig it up himself, but he wants to honor those who buried it and have them present when and if it’s done.
Harris tells 47 ABC, “We’d like to bring that time capsule up and we need a little bit more information because the debate is which class actually planted the time capsule or bury it.”
Harris says if you are a former student or employee of Fruitland Primary School and know anything about the time capsule, you can visit their website to tell your story that’s https://fps.wcboe.org/
