A news cameraman was despatched to film what SHOULD have been a routine puff piece - reaction shots of the interested parties in the bleachers, at the latest shuttle launch. What he ended up filming was EXTRAORDINARY.
As the shuttle exploded, 74 seconds in, those who were familiar with launches knew their relatives and loved ones were DEAD - however, those attending their first launch initially assumed the explosion was merely separation of the vehicle's stages. Thus, as some faces became wreathed with PAIN - others were still in awe at the majesty of it all.
But as word of what had ACTUALLY happened began to spread through the crowd like a slow cancer - those faces too became angst-ridden.
Meanwhile, the cameraman carried on doing his JOB - scanning the crowd for reaction shots. When his work was aired on the evening news bulletins, it had been cut down to a few seconds of sterile clips - but this is his FULL UNCUT footage.
It is followed by a piece, recorded shortly AFTER the disaster, where British media hack Alastair Stewart interviews a young woman named Heather Couper, who was the president of the British Astronomical Association. She only JUST manages to hold herself together.
This is the most moving video I have ever seen.
For more on this, please hit:- http://damienatloppers.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/damien-on-the-challenger-disaster/
