WHITEHALL, Mich. — The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion was one of those moments in history that you will always remember where you were when they happened.
Terry Fett, who now lives in Whitehall, watched the launch from his Florida home’s back porch.
“Beautiful day. We're going to watch this launch,” said Terry Fett.
He remembers Jan. 28, 1986, vividly.
“It was cold; we didn't have hardly a cloud in the sky,” said Fett.
Terry had watched other launches from his home and was looking forward to the Challenger launch.
“That thing took off, and it was like it was in the backyard,” said Fett.
As the shuttle lifted off, Terry says he could hear the crackle of the rocket engines.
“This was a monstrous rocket, and it had a, well... it just had a unique sound,” said Fett.
The launch was normal for the first 73 seconds, then tragedy struck.
“It wasn't a boom; this was a completely different sound. The crackling stopped immediately.”
He says it took a few minutes for him and others to realize the shuttle was destroyed.
“The people in the streets, they, of course, were dumbfounded. They didn't know; they were looking at each other. They're [like], 'What happened? What happened?'” said Fett.
Terry knew that he just witnessed something that he and others would never forget.
“We knew, just standing there and watching that thing come apart in front of us, we knew this was a forever moment,” said Fett.
Unfortunately, the Challenger was not the only space shuttle disaster. On Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia broke apart on re-entry over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board.
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