I remember the day very well. I was also 13 at the time and although it was a school day our teacher was a space flight enthusiast and had arranged to have a TV in the classroom. It was not usual to do this, but the "Teacher in Space" program had him particularly excited. So unlike most kids my age I did get to see it live.
However, that isn't what I remember most. Shortly after the event Expo 86 opened up in my hometown of Vancouver BC, Canada. The US exhibit for the expo was long since planned and built as a tribute to NASA, largely centered of the Shuttle Program. In the midst of this massive fairground atmosphere there were thousands of people solemnly filing through the USA Pavilion almost as though it were a public memorial. Around that building was the one quiet spot on the grounds. The expo went on until October 86 and that mood never changed. It certainly gave me a lasting memory of the
feelings I had at the time.
USA Pavilion - EXPO 86
