This week on This Just In, we take a step back in time.Rich and Bryan revisit their elementary school days in the early to mid-1960s, when the space race captured the imagination of an entire generation and every rocket launch felt like a moment the whole country shared together. From classroom countdowns to black-and-white TVs rolled into the gym, it was a time when space felt close enough to touch.But the conversation also turns deeply personal.Both men covered two of the darkest days in American space history — the shuttle disasters of Challenger and Columbia. In one especially powerful memory, Richard and his wife Catherine were in Florida and witnessed the launch of Columbia. Just days later, they were back home in North Texas when the shuttle broke apart overhead — a moment that connected their lives forever to one of NASA’s most tragic times.

**Fuzzy Recollection Note: The moon landing happened on July 20, 1969, not 1968, and the SpaceX capsule is Dragon. The rocket is Falcon. That's one small step for correcting the record. One giant leap for TJI.**