Originally Posted By: CJK
Earliest (that I remember off the top of my head) that was a "Where were you when" moment happened was NASA. Challenger. High school. Magic performance on a school trip to another NYC school. Came out and heard on radio. Still have immense difficulty hearing, "Go a throttle up."


I am a big space buff and and those now sadly iconic words "go at throttle up" will forever haunt any launch.

For the uninitiated, during launch, the space shuttle (and other rockets) reach a point called Max Q. This is where maximum dynamic pressure is on the space vehicle (shuttle / rocket) and typically the vehicle throttles down while approaching Max Q to reduce the stress and pressure.

With the Challenger, it throttled down to 65% through Max Q then at T68 seconds, Capcom instructed the shuttle commander (Dick Scobee) "Go at throttle up." which Scobee verbally confirmed "Go at throttle up." These were the the last words from the Challenger as it exploded seconds later.

Even in today's modern launches (SpaceX for example), there is always the mention of Max Q.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycMagB1s8XM&feature=youtu.be&t=1195
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