I didn't watch it.
I was pissed off that we stopped going to the moon, I watched the first two shuttles launch but was pretty disenchanted with the space program.
I recall thinking before hand that it it seemed more like a political launch, Reagan was suppose to talk to the teacher on the phone iirc.
One of the local conspiracy theorist said that it was done on purpose, because "they" didn't want people to know the truth about moon landings and aliens.
At the time, we discussed how much they were aware of what happened, I thought they died instantly but another friend, a failed sci-fi writer, insisted that they did not die in the sky, but drowned after landing.
I thought it was unlikely, even if they survived the explosion, hitting the ocean going that fast would kill them.
The whole thing soured me further on NASA.
The space program of the sixties inspired me. but the seventies and beyond it seemed like a wasted potential.
no moon base, I really wanted a moon base that we could use to explore from without the difficulty of escaping earth.