Retired Lehigh County Teacher Remembers Space Shuttle Challenger
COOPERSBURG, Pa.(CBS) -- It was an American tragedy that played out on live television, when seven people were instantly killed, 25 years ago, when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded moments after lift off.
A local man also took part in that program and he tells Eyewitness News that he was a phone call away from being on that ill-fated flight.
"We had to go through a pilot's physical to be qualified for the program," said retired Southern Lehigh High School school teacher, Charles 'Walt' Tremer.
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Tremer looks back on his experience at NASA with a divided heart, joy and sadness. He was one of 114 teachers chosen to train for the 'Teachers in Space' program.
"We would get together as a group and it was just dynamite. We were just feeding off of each other."
Of those who participated, Christa McAuliffe was chosen to fly with the Challenger crew.
"She was just very, very friendly," said Tremer.
In the end, it was Christa 's family who he stood beside as he watched the Challenger take flight.
"We were cheering, a football cheer. 'Go, Christa go!'
But just mere second later disaster struck.
"It was such a tragic event that it just smashed down on us."
Tremer says he was left with a complex mix of emotions, feeling sad, but at the same time blessed.
"It was devastating to us, but in the back of your mind you were thinking 'I'm glad it's not me.' Then you feel that is a horrible thought to have."
In the months after, a National discussion emerged, criticizing the risks and expenses of sending people into space, but Tremer and the other teachers found it hard to completely move on.
"We would be driving to school six months later and a thought would occur and we would all start crying in the car. It was such a scar."
And so they vowed to complete their initial mission, campaigning hard to get McAuliffe's backup, teacher Barbara Morgan on the Space Shuttle Endeavor, in 2007 they did, mission accomplished.
"It was really closure for us, after all of those years. We finally put a teacher in space."
Since the Challenger tragedy, Tremer says he has definitely stayed busy. He continued to work as a teacher for number of years, while serving as an ambassador for NASA, talking to thousands about the importance of the program.
These days he spends his summers working as an archaeologist in Russia.
