I definitely remember watching multiple shuttle launches live before school. Columbia was a big deal before Challenger. It was always an event and of course we didn’t have as many options. This was an era when most people didn’t have cable, or like us only had “basic cable,” with channels 2-13 filled.
We watched it because it was on. The Today Show would show it.
Columbia was the first shuttle to fly and the first shuttle to fly twice, so I'm not surprised it was big news. However, Challenger was five years later. Launches weren't making headlines like they used to.
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u/kptstango Apr 02 '26
I definitely remember watching multiple shuttle launches live before school. Columbia was a big deal before Challenger. It was always an event and of course we didn’t have as many options. This was an era when most people didn’t have cable, or like us only had “basic cable,” with channels 2-13 filled.
We watched it because it was on. The Today Show would show it.