It was a cool, crisp, clear day at the Kankakee IL airport. I was just about to board with a load of passengers to take them on a business trip. Secretary came running out & said "the space shuttle just blew up...". No one knew what to say. Of course everyone just knew it as the Christy McAuliffe

I didn't see the video coverage until a couple hours later. The most vivid memory I have is watching McAuliffes parents looking skyward & watching the shuttle climb. Then, when it exploded you can see her Dad blinking, but not looking away. Then his wife turned to him & asked "what happened"? I'm sure they were anxious prior to liftoff, but were probably proud watching the ascent, however in a milisecond it turned to disbelief for them. I'm sure they had hopes for a few moments that an intact capsule would emerge from the fireball, but it didn't.

Not that it makes any difference now, but there was compensation paid to families by NASA/Thiokol later.