Hoax: The Transcript of Challenger Crew last words

[truthman]

CalliEdit: Please note: the following is a hoax that has acquired the status of urban legend.<br /><br /><br />The cover up is over.<br /><br />NASA say it ended with Uh Oh, but that was only on tape. The following is from Christie's personal tape for the schoolkids to hear.<br /><br />T+1:15 (M) What happened? What happened? Oh God, no - no!<br /><br />T+1:17 (F) Oh dear God.<br /><br />T+1:18 (M) Turn on your air pack! Turn on your air...<br /><br />T+1:20 (M) Can't breathe... choking...<br /><br />T+1:21 (M) Lift up your visor!<br /><br />T+1:22 (M/F) (Screams.) It's hot. (Sobs.) I can't. Don't tell me... God! Do it...now...<br /><br />T+1:24 (M) I told them... I told them... Dammit! Resnik don't...<br /><br />T+1:27 (M) Take it easy! Move (unintelligible)...<br /><br />T+1:28 (F) Don't let me die like this. Not now. Not here...<br /><br />T+1:31 (M) Your arm... no... I (extended garble, static)<br /><br />T+1:36 (F) I'm... passing... out...<br /><br />T+1:37 (M) We're not dead yet.<br /><br />T+1:40 (M) If you ever wanted (unintelligible) me a miracle... (unintelligible)... (screams)<br /><br />T+1:41 (M) She's... she's... (garble) ... damn!<br /><br />T+1:50 (M) Can't breathe...<br /><br />T+1:51 (M/F) (screams) Jesus Christ! No!<br /><br />T+1:54 (M) She's out.<br /><br />T+1:55 (M) Lucky... (unintelligible).<br /><br />T+1:56 (M) God. The water... we're dead! (screams)<br /><br />T+2:00 (F) Goodbye (sobs)... I love you, I love you...<br /><br />T+2:03 (M) Loosen up... loosen up...<br /><br />T+2:07 (M) It'll just be like a ditch landing...<br /><br />T+2:09 (M) That's right, think positive.<br /><br />T+2:11 (M) Ditch procedure...<br /><br />T+2:14 (M) No way!<br /><br />T+2:17 (M) Give me your hand...<br /><br />T+2:19 (M) You awake in there? I... I...<br /><br />T+2:29 (M) Our Father... (unintelligible)...<br /><br />T+2:42 (M) ...hallowed be Thy name... (unintelligible).<br /><br />T+2:57 (M) You...ove

 

[shuttle_rtf]

I really don't think we gain anything from reading that.<br /><br />I believe the site that published it was debunked as a hoax (a very sick one if so). Regardless, can't we just let them rest in peace.

 

[drwayne]

This is an admitted hoax - i.e. the person who made it up has admitted to such. <br /><br />General rule of thumb: When you see something like this - never take it at face value until you have checked it out. Certainly do not go posting until you have done your homework. <br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

> the person who made it up has admitted to such<<br /><br />I hope someone caught up with him and gave him a beating he'll never forget. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" />

 

[drwayne]

This one is going to be like the Proctor and Gamble/Satan thing, it will get "re-discovered" over and over again, and uncritically repeated.<br /><br />Wayne<br /><br />p.s. The fact that this was the poster's first post makes me beleive this was a troll post. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[truthman]

Thanks for wiping my post of this on nasaspaceflight, &%$#@!. Realize it's a cover up don't you.

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>Thanks for wiping my post of this on nasaspaceflight<<br /><br />I own the site, which gives me the privilage of keeping crap off it.<br /><br />Dwayne - if you can delete this thread, it'd be great if could...out of respect for the STS-51L Crew.

 

[drwayne]

I would like to think that this thread covers why this a hoax.<br /><br />I may change my mind though...<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Ok, it's your call of course.<br /><br />Maybe I could suggest that the actual text of the first post is wiped? Then the following comments made can be used as immediate reference should this ever come up again? <br /><br />It just doesn't sit right with me to have those quotes attributed to that brave crew.<br /><br />I hope I'm not being a pain, it's just I'm taking that post personally as it was my actual reason (seeing the loss of Challenger as a 14 year old kid) for covering NASA as a journalist and if I'm taking this thread so badly, God knows how it might be affecting people more associated with STS-51L, regardless of it being a hoax.

 

[vt_hokie]

That melodramatic nonsense is so obviously bogus that I'm surprised this keeps surfacing.

 

[shuttle_rtf]

And while it does, some idiot's going to be tempted to copy it. That's what the problem is with it exsisting in more accesable areas of the internet, like a big site such as this.

 

[drwayne]

I am seeking clarification / correction on this. I understand the point you are making very clearly. It is *entirely* possible that *my* reasoning is flawed.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[lampblack]

I would vote for letting it stand. People have a right to be stupid -- and folks will recognize this piece of crap for what it is.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>

 

[truthman]

And how do you know it is. shuttle guy said her tape recorder was never found or thats what they tell them. the guy did not who wrote this say it was a hoax there is nothing on the net saying this, that is a lie and part of the cover up. Nasa fans cry its a hoax but that's only who. shuttle rtf claims to be a journalist yet doesn't know about this information i posted and doesn't believe it, not a very good journalist then and then censors me from the site he is on, yah right. you can hide from the truth, but the truth doesn't hide. Nasa killed them then covered it up and we pay for these murderers in our taxes. get real.

 

[ascan1984]

I agree with shuttleRTF and shuttleguy also. This thread should be deleted

 

[rfoshaug]

That "transcript" you post tries to "prove" that the astronauts were alive and in panic after the explosion.<br /><br />After the accident there was evidence (made public and not covered up) that some of the astronauts were alive after the explosion, because they had turned on emergency oxygen supply. So what? What does that "prove"?<br /><br />There was also, as noted earlier in this thread, no power on board after the shuttle had broken apart, so there was no voice recorders working. The intercom was not working, so the astronauts couldn't talk to each other.<br /><br />You provide no source for this "transcript". Where have you read it? Or do you have the tape yourself? Not very credible.<br /><br />You even say that NASA are murderers that killed the crew (on purpose? why would they do that?) and then covered it up by hiding the tape with that "transcript" you present. Hello? Have you even read your own post? Where in that "transcript" is the "evidence" that NASA are evil murderers? Yes there were made mistakes in the decision to launch Challenger that day, but all that information became known to the world through the investigation process. This "transcript" doesn't even try to provide new light into the cause of the accident, it just tries to make us believe there was panic on board Challenger as she went down. Where is the relevance in that?<br /><br />And in your last post you claim it is a part of a cover up to hide the "fact" that NASA killed these astronauts? Why would NASA do that? So that the civilian teacher on board wouldn't see the UFO's? to prevent her from seeing stars from the shuttle and conclude that all the images taken on the Moon (where you don't see stars due to the short shutter-times) are hoaxed? (There are actually some lunatics who believe NASA detonated the shuttle on purpose for that reason - it's a sick world).<br /><br />There are obviously two possibilities here.<br /><br />Either you're one of those fruitcakes that wear tin foil hats so that the <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff9900">----------------------------------</font></p><p><font color="#ff9900">My minds have many opinions</font></p> </div>

 

[drwayne]

"who wrote this say it was a hoax there is nothing on the net saying this"<br /><br />Really? Doesn't say much for your research skills. Google on something like: <br /><br />shuttle challenger transcript hoax<br /><br />Another excellent reference for when you read something like this is www.snopes.com, it should be your *first* stop before (1) Getting worked up and (2) Reposting something. Check this out:<br /><br />http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/challenger.asp<br /><br />Note that they make a point that Shuttle Guy made earlier, and it looks like you did not read/understand:<br /><br />"Moreover, personal recorders would not have picked up the comments of crew members on different decks, as the faked transcript would have us believe."<br /><br />There are plenty of stories of this type floating around the internet, about a incredible variety of topics. They are designed to take advantage of general beliefs that people have - government is lying to us, certain people are bad - and they feed us a line of crap that exploits that. To avoid being duped, you need to develop your sensor to see when a story is too good to be true. You need to do your research - and in this age of search engines its not that hard. <br /><br />7 friends of ours died that day. They died due to the weather, a faulty design, and a bad decision making process. When you really know the truth, and understand it, and the real people involved, it is far worse than any stupid hoax made up by a tabloid newspaper to sell papers on a slow news day.<br /><br />Wayne<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[lampblack]

Actually, I'll out myself and admit to being a journalist, too, with more than 20 years of experience writing for and editing newspapers -- although I don't write professionally about space issues.<br /><br />It was my experience as a journalist that led me to argue in favor of not deleting this poor, misguided, sorry excuse of a thread. People have a right to speak freely -- even conspiracy nuts like you. People have a right to be wrong -- even stupidly wrong.<br /><br />Once we start deleting threads, then the question becomes, "Where do we draw the line?" And while I trust Wayne's judgement in this particular matter, one can't help but wonder where the precedent might lead over time.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>And how do you know it is. shuttle guy said her tape recorder was never found or thats what they tell them. the guy did not who wrote this say it was a hoax there is nothing on the net saying this, that is a lie and part of the cover up. Nasa fans cry its a hoax but that's only who. shuttle rtf claims to be a journalist yet doesn't know about this information i posted and doesn't believe it, not a very good journalist then and then censors me from the site he is on, yah right. you can hide from the truth, but the truth doesn't hide. Nasa killed them then covered it up and we pay for these murderers in our taxes. get real.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />You are right, Truthman, the truth doesn't hide. That's why everybody is so eager to let you know the truth about this transcript. It's a fraud, a lie, and not a very good one at that. If you do any research at all into the transcript, you will find that it is impossible for these words to have been recorded in the way the transcript claims. The lack of power is the major one. You don't have to take my word for it, or even NASA's. Look at the video recordings of the accident; if you look very closely, you can actually see the crew compartment tumbling out of the cloud of debris. It is obvious that it is no longer attached to the rest of the vehicle. This is important, because the power supply is not in the crew compartment. It's in the midfuselage, under the payload bay.<br /><br />There is a real transcript of the last recorded words of the Challenger crew, if you are actually interested in the truth and not fear-mongering. It opens up a hollow spot in my stomach when I read it. So do Columbia transcripts. So did the recent Discovery Channel documentary "The Flight That Fought Back". You don't need a transcript of every moment to be able to connect with the crew and really feel the tragedy of their loss.<br /><br />There is no "cockpit voice recorder" b <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>NASA say it ended with Uh Oh, but that was only on tape. The following is from Christie's personal tape for the schoolkids to hear. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Okay, now I don't think I can take you seriously anymore, Truthman. I just reread your first post. You say "Uh Oh" was only on tape, and then go on and say that the hoax transcript was from a tape. How are we supposed to take you seriously when you contradict yourself in the space of two sentences?<br /><br />McAuliffe did not have a "personal tape", and if she did, it would not have been capable of recording voices in this situation. It would not have been attached to the intercom system, and thus would not have been able to hear their voices. It's a noisy environment during ascent.<br /><br />Incidentally, when the hoax transcript was originally posted to the web years ago, it claimed to be a radio transcript. I guess somebody got smart and changed it to a tape when somebody told them the truth -- that the vehicle can't transmit data without power, and that there was no signal after the accident. I wonder if we'll see the story change again the next time it gets posted as it is progressively retconned? Obviously the authors of the hoax never bothered to do any real research. And obviously the same is true of those who keep perpetuating it even when provided with the actual truth. Ignorance I can excuse. Willful blindness is another matter entirely. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

"Where do we draw the line?"<br /><br />As a journalist of less experience - allow me to throw the same point back at you. Please understand I do agree with your comments on ensuring we don't become a society of censorship.<br /><br />Where do we draw the line in the opposite direction? Webcams in people's toilets?<br /><br />What's that got to do with this, you may ask....well it's an invasion of privacy on the honour of these seven people. I don't agree with the theory that allowing this thread to stand is helpful, as I know how search engines work on subjects like this.<br /><br />In a few weeks someone is going to type in "Challenger Disaster Tape" or words to that affect. Google, Yahoo etc. will come up with that first post only (as a standalone post), because it search engine results for uplink do not come up as flat threads, at least in my experience.<br /><br />Unless someone specifically goes on to read the entire thread - which is by no means certain, there is a danger of this hoax "doing the rounds" again.<br /><br />I'm not trying to tell a moderator on here how to do their job, just as I wouldn't expect them to comment on the content of my site's forum, but I would like to draw attention to the reasons why I personally believe this does more harm than good as it stands.

 

[frostbrewed]

January 28, 1986...............I was 7 years old and I remember this like it happened yesterday..... The accident was covered on my local station by a "Special Report" that lasted the remainder of that day and into late that night. I was out of school due to snow and watched the whole thing. My family didn't have a VCR at the time so we recorded the audio with a tape recorder. I remember my (extremely) strong willed and independent mother breaking down and crying as they talked about the crew's personal life and the family they left behind. This was the first time in my young life I felt bad for somebody that I didn't even know. The challenger crew should be remembered for their bravery and quest for knowledge.<br /><br />There will always be jacka**es that feed off of tragedy but I think this is taking it to the extreme and IMHO should be moderated accordingly. Although "truthman's" idea has been proven wrong by a number of posts, "Shuttle_RTF" made a good point, a google search will most likely bring up the first post in this thread and it's frankly embarrassing since anybody with access to an ISP can read a post like that coming from Space.com and will likely be duplicated by some other "truthman" <br /><br />Frost

 

[spacefire]

<font color="yellow">T+1:13............PLT Uhoh.</font><br /><br />Not to be making light of all this, but that's an understatement.... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[SpaceKiwi]

As much as I find these kind of hoaxes in entremely poor taste, I agree with lampblack on this one. People have a right to be ... misinformed, shall we say ... and it creates an opportunity for them to learn something from those better qualified than they to speak authoritively on the facts. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[vt_hokie]

I think one thing that the Challenger disaster illustrates is that with an ejectable crew module, perhaps similar to that on the F-111, a crew would be able to survive this type of vehicle breakup. The g-loads were not beyond what the crew could endure, from what I recall. <br /><br />Now, I don't quite understand hypoxia, even though I may have experienced the onset of it myself on the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii! (Well, I got a little light headed, anyway...) Why is it that the crew of an aircraft can be rendered unconscious within seconds of a rapid decompression? If I stop breathing right now, I can easily hold my breath for well over a minute before I really start to feel it. I'm guessing it has to do with low pressure, perhaps evacuating the lungs. But how does that prevent oxygen already in the blood from reaching the brain?