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Like controllers looking at the situation, obviously a major malfunction.

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The words were haunting because of the contrast between the non-personal voice saying those words,

and the image that was on the TV screen.

The space shuttle visible only as a dot, a weak plume behind it, rising up and then diving into the sea.

The challenger disaster.

Obviously a major malfunction.

What made challenger shocking, we know, is that America was watching it unfold.

When the launch began, networks had tired of the shuttle launches, and they didn't break coverage.

It was 11.38 a.m., they were into their daytime.

Even though NASA had added this public relations boost to this particular mission, after a lottery process,

they added teacher Christa McCulloch of Concord, New Hampshire.

She would do experiments and teach a lesson to students from space, even this wasn't enough.

The networks mostly passed on the launch, only the fledging cable network CNN was covering the full launch.

And this is 1986, they had few viewers at this point.

Those who did watch, and those who were gathered in freezing cold temperatures in Florida to watch the launch,

quickly saw excitement, as the space shuttle at 73 seconds into its rise reached 46,000 feet at Mac, 1.5 literally supersonic speed,

...