The Challenger: the Untold Story

On January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after liftoff the Challenger exploded in air. The Challenger was an American shuttle orbiter which was the spacecraft’s 10th mission. The federal government agency that oversaw the space program that commenced the space program is National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Challenger had a seven passenger crew aboard at the time of explosion. The team consisted of Christa McAuliffe, a 37 year old high school social studies teacher and commander of the mission Francis R. (Dick) Scobee. Christa was a teacher from New Hampshire who had been selected to join the mission and teach lessons from space to schoolchildren around the country.

After the Challenger exploded in air, President Ronald Regan launched an investigation to determine what went wrong and also to develop future corrective measures. The thorough investigation revealed that there was an issue with the space craft’s O-rings which was the reason for the explosion. There was a failure of two O-rings in the aft joint in the right solid rocket boosters. This did not allow the space craft to seal properly due to cold weather. The failure of the seal led to numerous catastrophic events. The space craft disintegrated before it crashed into the ocean. Hot gases leaked through the right solid rocket booster, resulting in a flame that damaged the clamp that secured the solid rocket booster. It then burned right through the external fuel tank which caused the tank to collapse. Morton Thiokol was the company that designed the solid rocket boosters. The investigation discovered that the company had failed to take action against the warnings about the potential issues. The Challenger also encompassed an ethical dilemma in regards to the launch that resulted in disaster. Thiokol, who manufactured and also helped with the engineering aspect of the launch, had used the O-rings previously. The engineers were well aware of failure at low temperatures. However,...