A Nation Was Glued to the TV 28 Years Ago Today as the Space Shuttle Challenger Exploded [VIDEO]

I cannot believe that 28 years have passed since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

I remember exactly where I was. I was having lunch with friends in between classes at Western Kentucky University. I was late for my next class because I lost track of time while watching the coverage.

I was in the Garrett Conference Center's cafeteria which sits near the top of the hill on Western's campus.

On weekdays, it's a busy place. On that day, at that time, it was packed. But when regular programming was interrupted and it became clear what had happened, the place went quiet. That doesn't happen easily at Garrett.

CNN had been covering the launch of the Challenger. When the shuttle exploded, the anchor did not immediate realize what had happened or if anything had even gone wrong.

Watching it again today, it's still as shocking as it was then: