Challenger Disaster Research Paper

The “Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster” was an event that was bound to happen. Unfortunately, seven astronauts lost their life in a failure that could have easily been prevented. The failure of the rocket booster O-rings gave way to gas leaks through the external fuel tank which caused the explosion. NASA has came a long way since 1986, however history cannot be erased. In my opinion, this failure traces back to the management. It doesn't make sense to me that an O.K. to launch was given after insufficient testing, lack of communication, and disapproval from others involved in the build. The wrong people must have been given the wrong responsibilities. After reading the background, I can only think that the ones in charge were racing with time, considering economic & political

pressures and thought it was a better idea to take a risk than wait any longer. Any person who thinks logically can understand a spacecraft is not ready to be launched without sufficient testing and 100% belief. Years leading up to the launch (1974-1985) show that these problems the shuttle encountered were not out of the ordinary.

Joint rotation problems and O-ring erosion were discovered and somewhat brushed to the side. Weather was also considered with these problems. Morton- Thiokol manufactured the rocket boosters. However, the engineers who built the boosters had doubts of proper function. Especially within sub-freezing temperatures. Also showing why there was numerous launch delays. The night before the launch, a teleconference was held between engineers and management from Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Morton- Thiokol. The Engineers specifically stated that the cold weather would cause problems with O-ring seating and joint rotation. After heated arguments, NASA managers decided to approve the boosters for launch. The night of the launch, temperatures were as low as 8 degrees Fahrenheit. And 72 seconds after lift off, the Challenger exploded. My observations are very clear. The wrong people were in charge of this operation. There was every reason for NASA not to launch and they still decided to. Unfortunately, we cannot change the past but we can change the

future. It seems that NASA has learned from this experience, but who says history won’t repeat itself. I believe it's very important that only the top of the line people qualified for these jobs should be in charge of operations such as this. My condolences go out to the families of the seven that were killed, but I will never understand the decision to launch. Good people lost their lives and millions of dollar in spacecraft was destroyed. This should have been avoided.