New Footage of Challenger Explosion Surfaces

“Is that trouble or not?”

That’s the question posed by Florida optometrist Jack Moss, who captured this previously unseen footage of the 1986 Challenger explosion.

Watching this video so many years later has been gripping, despite the fact that the Challenger launch was broadcast live, an images of the explosion have reached near-iconic status — it all looks familiar, but it’s pieced together in a way you couldn’t have imagined.

Two and a half decades later, these events are no a sadly familiar part of our history — so hearing the background narration of ordinary Americans with a video camera out to capture the spectable is surreal. The growing realization that something is amiss — “That’s trouble of some kind, George… that didn’t look right” — all while Dr. Moss keeps the camera trained on the twin smoke trails above, until confirmation comes from inside the house that yes, the Challenger has exploded. “Boy I knew it didn’t look right.” Sort of amazing background, and one of the reasons this video is so riveting. In this age of instant news, it’s easy to forget how little information Dr. Moss and his family had while they were watching that Shuttle launch, and wondering at why it looked different this time.

Related:
We Keep Finding Historically Significant Photos. Will Our Grandchildren? [Mediaite]
Chilling: Amateur Video of 1986 Challenger Explosion Surfaces [Geekosystem]

Via Digg.

— With Rachel Sklar

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