NASA was warned that the Challenger launch could result in the destruction of the mission.

[TheWraith]

Very few people are familiar with this story, but on the 25th anniversary of the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger with all aboard, I believe a history lesson is in order.

The Challenger explosion was caused by a pair of failed O-ring seals in one of the solid rocket boosters. The failure of these to seal properly resulted in superheated gas exiting the side of the booster at 5,000 degrees, burning through the main liquid hydrogen/oxygen fuel tank, igniting it and destroying the flight.

The primary and backup O-ring seals were well known to be "criticality 1" components, meaning that a failure of both seals would result in the catastrophic destruction of the spacecraft.

This letter is written to insure that management is fully aware of the seriousness of the current O-ring erosion problem in the SRM joints from an engineering standpoint. . . . If the same scenario should occur in a field joint (and it could), then it is a jump ball as to the success or failure of the joint because the secondary O-ring cannot respond to the clevis opening rate and may not be capable of pressurization. The result would be a catastrophe of the highest order - loss of human life. . . .

It is my honest and very real fear that if we do not take immediate action to dedicate a team to solve the problem with the field joint having the number one priority, then we stand in jeopardy of losing a flight along with all the launch pad facilities.

— Roger Boisjoly, Morton Thiokol, Inc. interoffice memo to R. K. Lund, Vice President, Engineering titled SRM O-Ring Erosion/Potential Failure Criticality, sent six months before the Challenger launch, 31 July 1985.

That January, the temperature around the launch site was unusually cold for Florida, hovering around freezing, which prompted the engineers at Morton Thiokol--the company that built the SRBs--to issue a warning to NASA that the O-rings were not guaranteed to seal at such low temperatures. They recommended that in air temperatures lower than 53 degrees at the time of launch, the O-rings were potentially unsafe.

NASA's reaction to this warning was less than positive.

My God, Thiokol, when do you want me to launch, next April?

— Lawrence Mulloy, Solid Rocket Booster Project Director, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA, regards Morton Thiokol's engineers' warnings, 27 January 1986.

(I'm) appalled at the Thiokol recommendation.

— George Hardy, Deputy Director of Science and Engineering, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA, regards Morton Thiokol's engineers' warnings, 27 January 1986.

After NASA administrators complained about the recommendation to the executives at Morton Thiokol, Thiokol Senior Vice President Jerry Mason told the firm's chief engineer R. K. Lund to "Take off his engineering hat and put on his management hat." Just 30 minutes after the engineers had issued the hold recommendation, the Morton Thiokol management gave the go-ahead to the launch.

If the primary (o-ring) seal does not seat, the secondary seal will seat. . . . Morton Thiokol recommends STS-51L launch proceed on 28 January 1986.

— Joe C. Kilminster, VP Space Booster Programs, Morton Thiokol, by fax to NASA, January 27 1986.

The following day, launch took place on schedule. 73 seconds after liftoff, the Challenger was destroyed in flight by an explosion resulting from catastrophic O-ring failure, killing it's seven crewmembers.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[The Backlash Cometh]

9. We have a history of pushing our luck to just beyond the limit.

[WingDinger]

10. The free market will save us, what are you, some kind of commie?

[leveymg]

2. Nobody went to jail for that one, either. Might've embarrassed the Gipper. Morning in America.

No wonder we've come so far on the way to becoming a third-rate country in so many ways.

[rocktivity]

3. And of course it didn't help that it was just too cold

I'd planned the watch the launch at home and be a little late for work. But when I learned that the temp was 23 degrees, I went straight to the office, figuring that they'd postpone yet again.

I get to work to find people gathered around the TV in a conference room. "They're doing it anyway? Are they nuts? They've never blasted off when it was only 23 degrees!" I was corrected, "Twenty-nine."

Still convinced they stop the countdown, I just said, "I have the worst feeling about this," headed for my desk, began my workday, and heard the news on the radio...twenty five years ago, huh?

:(
rocktivity

[Bunny]

4. Actually, I think the story is fairly common knowledge.

That information came out in the aftermath of the investigation. NASA knew about the o-ring issue but felt compelled to get the launch going anyway, with disastrous results. Somebody should have been prosecuted for that.

[CBGLuthier]

6. Yeah, that's how I view it too

I guess people born since then may not know much about it, since america does not teach its failings in its schools, but those of us around then sure remember and know about this.

[bananas]

5. and the Kremlin has been warned about Bushehr

by the Russian scientists working on-site: "Russian scientists warn of 'Iranian Chernobyl'" http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x271202

[csziggy]

7. There had been a number of indications beforehand that the O rings would leak

At low temperatures. But NASA and Morton Thiokol had no solutions to this problem that would have allowed shuttle flights to continue. It was not in the management or political interests of NASA to halt flights while the problem was solved, so they continued to send astronauts up, knowing that there was a very good chance that there would be a failure that would cost lives.

I remember when the news about Roger Boisjoly's warning came out and how shocked the public was that NASA would be so indifferent to the lives of our astronauts. Young people were especially affected since many were watching the first teacher head into space, it was such a high profile mission and widely shown live on school media. I think one reason the space program is not as accepted as it was by my generation is that the Challenger generation watched that explosion and then were disillusioned by the causes and the cover-up.

[Ian David]

8. See also: Dr. Richard Feynman - Discovers the O-Ring Problem

Dr. Richard Feynman - Discovers the O-Ring Problem
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=228&topic_id=75656&mesg_id=75658

[truebrit71]

11. They went ahead with the launch even though there were huge icicles hanging from the shuttle..

...because there was a teacher on board and Ronnie Raygun wanted to brag about her being on space that night on the SOTU...of course no-one will cop to it..but imho that is why they lit that candle on that fateful day...

[FogerRox]

12. Thats right, it was delayed a week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union_address

[jmowreader]

13. I think Ronnie planned to speak to her during the SOTU

Which of course would not have happened if they would have waited until they didn't have to scrape the windshield before they launched.