NASA Space Shuttle Challenger Failure

Despite strict safety regulations and careful consideration of risks and risk mitigation within engineering, tragic disasters still occur, unfortunately. One such disaster was the explosion of the NASA space shuttle, Challenger. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board. This catastrophe was caused by the failure of an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster at launch. The O-ring failed because it was not designed to withstand unusually cold conditions which occurred on the launch day. Since the solid rocket booster joint was no longer properly sealed after the failure of the O-ring, pressurized burning gas from within the solid rocket motor leaked out to surrounding components where it caused the separation of the right solid rocket booster at the joint attachment and also led to the structural failure of the external tank. The orbiter was broken up by aerodynamic forces. Crew members are believed to have survived the initial breakup of the space shuttle. However, the shuttle did not have an escape system, leaving the crew trapped inside. The violent impact of the crew compartment with the ocean was too forceful to allow any of the crew to survive.

The commission found that NASA staff were aware that the contractor’s design of the O-rings contained a potentially catastrophic flaw but failed to address the problem. NASA violated several of its own safety rules and their organizational culture and decision- making processes were key contributors to the accident. The decision- makers also ignored warnings from engineers that they should delay the launch until weather conditions were more