What caused the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster? | What Went Wrong | Free Documentary

What Went Wrong - What caused the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster?
What Went Wong - Complete Season: • What Went Wong | All E...
On January 28, 1986 NASA lost seven astronauts when a booster engine failed, causing the Shuttle
Challenger to break apart just 73 seconds after launch. But what exactly went wrong during the launch and in the preparations for the big day that led to such a catastrophic failure? Engineers at Morton Thiokol had warned managers not to launch as the “O” rings that sealed off the segments of the boosters might not expand as planned, but they were ignored. Worse still, this problem had been noticed from the very beginning of the Shuttle problem, but was covered up to give NASA the commercial edge in sending satellites into space. Seven astronauts died and the Shuttle program suspended.
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[@FreeDocumentary]

I remember watching it live on TV. The crazy thing: all sorts of experts warned not to launch below a certain temperature. I’m sure nobody got satisfaction out of the prediction coming true. Events leading up to the disaster.

[@herpaderpy888]

I had personal friends who worked on the shuttle program. To this day, as professors, they teach that it was the o-rings, with the documents to show. NASA was concerned about public perception. Shuttle was over budget, slow, and much less useful than intended. It was supposed to have much greater payload and reusability and a much faster launch cadence. A weather slip meant that shuttle couldn't even launch in cold weather, which was a death sentence to the longevity of the program. In the call with Thiokol, NASA executives heard what Thiokol had to say and the "Morton Thiokol does not recommend go", told them to "take off their engineer hats and put on their project management hats", and asked again. Effectively, they were threatening to remove them from the shuttle program. After a short time, Thiokol came back with a recommendation of "go". Shuttle was already a "go fast" program with lots of engineering concerns. Many called it inherently unsafe. Ultimately, it became a lesson. It is an extremely important lesson for every one of us in the aerospace industry, and I hope it's one that isn't soon forgotten. I have my reservations about the SLS program, especially with the many failures recently, but I'll leave it at that. In my current program, subcontracted boxes continue to cause problems, and I hope to write a document to management to prevent many of the issues we are seeing on future programs, and I'll be damned if I let these issues repeat again should I become the full program manager on a future program.

[@larrystuder8543]

@@herpaderpy888 one version that I heard had NASA requiring a signed safety certificate from Thiokol that the launch would be safe. None of the Thiokol engineers at The Cape would sign it. So NASA faxed it to Thiokol headquarters. No one on the engineering staff there would sign it either. Finally, a VP of Operations, not an engineer, signed it and sent it back.

[@vonix7]

I've tried to read and watch everything on this...has anyone else read 'a prescription for disaster'?

[@williamwingo4740]

As the Jeff Goldblum character put it in "Jurassic Park": "G-d, I hate bein' right all the time...." Added in edit 20230512: There's also the old engineering adage: 1.Good (could be interpreted to include "Safe"); 2. Fast; 3. Cheap; Pick any two....

[@LiPo5000]

@@larrystuder8543 SAD

[@JimMac23]

Respect to the engineer who realized the danger to launch and refused to sign the document.

[@FreeDocumentary]

I know!

[@bigeye8902]

My respect to Allan McDonald and other engineers who tried to save the situation earlier but fell on the management's deaf ears.

[@krugerfuchs]

They should have rang the media I would've or the astronauts

[@DennysDinerLIVE]

Roger Boisjoly (RIP) as well

[@mikeborgmann]

It must be very odd to have your prediction come true, the anger you must feel at being ignored! And at the same time probably wishing that you were wrong....

[@faupoh55]

Mgmt should be in jail!! They are responsible for all those innocent lives!

[@veetee1327]

Sounds a lot like boeing at the moment, cutting costs and ignoring/silencing safety concerns raised by those in the know. Not caring about safety, but what is acceptable loss.

[@charlescollier3154]

My dad was a aeronautical space engineer for NASA Johnson Space Center and I remember sitting there watching Challenger launch and when it exploded I turned around and my dad had tears running down his face the only time i ever saw my father cry he knew exactly what had happened.

[@bcham7373]

Much respect to Alan to not cave into the pressure to sign the document. I was in middle school when this happened was very sad and tragic. We’ve lost a lot of these engineers, RIP.

[@ontherunjg]

Still blows me away no one went to jail. This was manslaughter. They were flat out told it was going to explode.

[@troywest]

17:35 - you can hear him holding back his tears. I'm so proud of this man for following his conscience.

[@Semper_Iratus]

I once heard an NASA engineer describe the space shuttle program as a butterfly on a stick of dynamite. I have never forgotten that comparison.

[@siddharthshekher1101]

that's a nice way to see it. Where can we watch the video?

[@npkrn6764]

Yikes! 😬

[@whitneywilson6680]

@@siddharthshekher1101 What video?

[@kingjasko]

i really like these, too bad all of my friends are into tiktok and cant handle anything longer than 5 minutes lmao

[@sourgummiez]

You need to find new friends.

[@robbyirwin4846]

I think the same thing... I wish there were more of these!!! longer videos .... educational ones!!!!! Please!!

[@cosmic2096]

Majority of them living delusional ✌🏽 world changed through tiktok and reels than actually being human

[@TrashParty]

Get better, more intellectually capable, like-minded friends

[@Roberob1189]

I’ve been watching/listening to these while I work and free time since 2010. 2010 I stopped hanging out with most of my friends also lol. They are the tik toc type.

[@bamnguyen7903]

This was one of those moments in time when you can remember exactly where you were and what was happening around you. I was in 2nd grade and my whole elementary school watched it live in our school gym. Didn’t understand what was happening at the time but I what stood out to me were all of our teachers crying.

[@USN_Ret-]

I had left on my first deployment Jan 11th. We were nearing Hawaii.

[@FirstSuiGeneris]

I was living in Germany!

[@chrissiehansen2640]

me2

[@javiermori1710]

I was in 9th grade PE class in gym. The teacher brought out tv in middle of court so we could all watch. Yeah i remember that day well.

[@nicksivds]

I was in second grade. I just remember knowing something terrible happened. My teacher quietly got up and turned the tv off without saying a word.

[@dirtyshirtinfo]

I used to run Red Teams in the IT industry. The purpose of these teams was to perform root cause analysis of failures in the infrastructure. It was astonishing how many people never really wanted to talk about root cause. Politics and careers may have been at stake. From that experience what I can say is this: No matter what failure we’re talking about there is always a person or people that ultimately caused the failure. Either by action or inaction. Always. No exceptions. Ask “why?” 5 times and you’ll have your answer. Yes, the rubber O ring failed but who decided to go forward with launching for example? The rubber is a symptom. Risk management is the root cause.

[@owieri]

i bet it's still somewhat easier to talk about root cause knowing that it is not you than to make decisions knowing that some of them can and will turn out to be bad ones nothing is perfect

[@jordanjoestar-turniptruck]

There's always going to be a flaw in the engineering, whether it was overlooked or the requirements were miscommunicated. Similar to the Chernobyl disaster just a couple months later and the "economical" RBMK reactor. It's all about how these flaws are prioritized. External pressures are a reality wherever you are. Desperation is a very dangerous thing.

[@npkrn6764]

Just as in any catastrophe in life - including personal relationships!

[@rodrudinger9902]

Wrong; The Reagan Administration changed top personnel, at NASA, put enormous pressure, on them; topped off, by wanting a "Teacher in Space", for "Show, and Tell", during Reagan's "State of The Union" Speech, scheduled for that evening. The Launch should have been "scrubbed", but that didn't happen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, South Carolina Senator; was suspicious, but got "stonewalled". You may "fill in, the rest". Also, check "Frontline", and articles in the Washington Posr, and New York Times, plus other sources. This was an "accident", waiting to happen; and The Reagan Administration, "Set It, up".

[@dellahicks7231]

Ask any resident on the Canadian prairie that has tried fixing a vehicle or the like on their home during one of our harsh winters, and they will tell you that a soft rubber gasket can get hard as a rock! Mr McDonald's is the best explanation of the O-ring I have heard, and I have watched many documentaries regarding the disaster. Such a tragic event, made even moreso knowing how many children were riveted to tv sets, excited to see their teacher.

[@HumminbirdMoth]

At the time, I worked on similar seal mechanism for the oil field and learnt that the elastomer has THERMAL EXPANSION COEFFICIENT 9 times of STEEL!! So what will seal at 50 Deg F will not when at freezing temp and even at "NORMAL TEMPERATURE" there were LEAKS observed in earlier launches; although not enough to cause disaster. Extreme ENGINEERING TOLERANCES could cause FAILURES. The Challenge failure helped me to DRIVE INTO THE HEADS of company management about the limitation of elastomer rings in a thermal cycling working environment.

[@FreeDocumentary]

wow. Okay. That’s pretty neat insight. Thank you. And the positive side of a disaster is when there’s a learning curve.

[@toddgrogg8005]

When the smartest engineers ( Allen McDonald), and others tell you not to launch. Dam it listen to them. They know what the hell they are saying. Thank you Mr. Allen McDonald, for trying to stop this sad situation from happening.

[@ruabadkitty]

I was watching it in my front yard with a bunch of friends in Cape Canaveral. I remember everyone couldn't believe what happended. It too a bit to sink in even after we have seen so many go up. We were told to go into our apts and close windows and turn off AC units until furthur notice. You could smell it.

[@bennythejet3412]

That is absolutely wild I’ve never thought about that. What did it smell like?

[@gasguy5386]

@9:20. The failure to 'name' the Engineers who overrode 53 degree recommendation and endorsed the decision to launch just perpetuates the tragedy of this disaster... people made the decision and they should be held publicly accountable every time this story is told.

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

Why do you think, Management Decisions are often "Group" Decisions? That why NO Particular Person is ever held Accountable...

[@kenziehannity]

I know I'm trying to cite that guy's quote and I can't now 2:09

[@nate.hanlon]

they should’ve been in jail

[@highstimulation2497]

Props to Allan McDonald. This guy has integrity.

[@dougholliday467]

It took me a while to decide to watch this documentary as the disaster affected me so. Finally, today I decided to watch out of curiosity and I believe that everything that was presented was in very good taste and entirely respectable. Thank you so much for this documentary. I learned a lot. Unfortunately, as usual, there are considerable inconsistencies with the (government report) and the TRUTH.

[@DanSpotYT]

Ok, what facts did the report have incorrect? Specifics, please.

[@dougholliday467]

@@DanSpotYT Sorry Dan, but I would need to see the film again, and I just don't have the time. Your question should have possibly this: Do you know what the truth is? Thanks for your reply. Perhaps at another time, I may get in touch.

[@bige300]

Shame on NASA!!! Much respect to Allan McDonald for not caving to the government oligarchs.

[@JimMac23]

It wasn't just NASA. It was also the company in Utah that manufactured the shuttle rocket.

[@bige300]

@@JimMac23 It was NASA who put the pressure on Morton Thiokol to recommend launching despite the cold temperatures and the countless warnings from the engineers.

[@samcas707]

I remember watching a doco where it was said the shuttle program was right on limit of engineering envelope for the time, in that every launch was effectively a test flight

[@djsi38t]

Absolutely true....dangerous for sure.

[@profile2047]

Doco…

[@coltonzack8714]

alot of tragic things that happened in a big company unfortunately always comes down to cutting costs in many aviation companies

[@BabyMakR]

I was in primary school in Australia when this happened, and we were supposed to be watching a recording of the launch the next day at school. That was cancelled and we ended up watching some boring nonsense about recycling or something. I asked why and was told that they didn't get the video. My dad showed me the news paper that night and I asked my teacher why they lied they ummed and ahhed and brushed me off. 2 or 3 years later I had the same teacher again and we had to do an oral report on anything we wanted to do. I did mine on Challenger. The teacher tried to talk me out of it. Then demanded that I not do it. Then told my parents to forbid me from doing it. They told her where to go. I did it and she tried to give me a C- for it as punishment. My parents went to the principal who read the report and told the teacher to correct her grade. She left the school not long after. She was very religious and anyone who dared to do any project about science got an immediate poor grade. She left the school not long after but is a large part of why I don't trust overly religious people.

[@johnhouston9764]

WOW that is some experience.

[@cliffpadilla5871]

This actually happened on my grandmother's birthday. I was home when this happened. It was broadcasted live.

[@andrewosborne7544]

Free Documentary makes my day better. Thank you for posting

[@morrismwenda9138]

Magnificent Documentary. Well documented Incredible job by the engineers and all the astronauts

[@MrTokusatsuFan]

Unfortunately, we still live with management/authorities who have egos over facts. “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled” -Richard Feynman

[@cg_justin_5327]

I watched it from my front yard in Titusville Florida that cold morning. I had two firsts that day. It was the first time I had ever seen frost on the grass, and the first time I watched someone die. A terrible disaster. People asked me, it must have been loud as hell right!? On the contrary, once a space vehicle gets so high, you hear nothing....absolutely nothing. Fly high Challenger crew. You will not be forgotten.

[@kjhelms829]

My uncle and Grandfather owned Mims East Coast Auto Salvage at the time of this tragedy and you wouldn’t believe the government agencies that showed up searching for debris from the Challenger. The thing that stuck me as weird is nothing was recovered however about a decade later they were contacted and told that prior to the junkyard coming to existence NASA used that property as a dump site for NASA

[@mywifesboyfriend5558]

You didn't see them die. Not until they hit the water.

[@Heatherboothe]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if the engineers working on the space shuttle say not to launch, then you don't launch.

[@praveenvenugopal9920]

My respect to all the engineers especially Mr. Bob Ebbling...the poor soul took it hard on himself feeling he was responsible for the deaths as he wasn't successful in influencing NASA to hold the launch of the Challenger.

[@CONSOLETRUTH2]

Wow, how fast time has gone by. Today is Dec. 11th, 2022 so in jist over a month we will be at the 37 year anniversary. I remember this clear as day. That January day in 1986, I jad just barely turned 6 years old and was in kindergarten. About 10 min before launch our teacher turned the tv on to the launch, just as in every other classroom mainly because a teacher, a civilian for the first time ever, was going to be going up into space. When the countdown hit 10 seconds everyone in class was counting down and at zero we all cheered as Challenger lifted off into the heavens to sadly never return in tact. Our teacher went to her desk tand sat down to do some paperwork and about 30 seconds later, every kid let oit a huge gasp. The teacher looked up wondering what was going on when 1 kid pointed towards the tv and said "Look, it 'sploded!" The teacher, Mrs. Silva stood up and git in front of the tv, then quickly turned around to look at the class. every studwnt was just stafing qith a shocked look on their fa e, not really 7nderstanding wxactly what they were seeing. Mrs. Silva just had a look of utter shock on her face not knowing what exactly to do but seemed to be at least relieved that no one was asking any questions Quickly, she turned off the tv and told us to get out a sheet of paper and a pencil cause we were going to have a surprise spelling test. Of course the whole class moaned but it worked. Lickily the test was me er really scored but she knew she had to do something to get our minds on something else. Another plus for jer was that back in those days, kindergarten was only a half day vlass and luckily we werw only like 45 min. or so from the end of our day. It's weird how there are a lot of things from when i was that age that I do not remember but that was one day I will never forget for the rest of my life. It was the first time in my short life that I was part of one of those eventsypi hear people say that they cam remember with 100% clarity qhere theu were and what they were doing at the moment something major happened. Of course, it would not be the last of those events BUT luckily those type of events are not always due to bad reasons. Anyway, sorry for the lengrh of this post but I just had to get that out. Thank you to anyone whom had read this.

[@a.randolph8112]

I remember watching this in the 4th grade. School was cancelled the rest of the day. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

[@miritallstag336]

My mom grew up in Brigham City, which is near Ogden. The Sunday after, all the grown-ups at church were worried about getting fired or laid off. She was six. A six-year-old noticed that people were affected by this and remembers it forty years later. She had seen it live at school, and so had my dad, but he lived in Magna, so he didn't see what she did. Anyone who says this was staged or the astronauts are still alive isn't just being disrespecting to the astronauts and their loved ones. They're disrespecting all the people who lost their livelihoods to this disaster.

[@benjojohnson]

I was in the fourth grade watching live! I was forever shaped by this

[@Rocky-xx2zg]

'What Went Wrong? ' Yes, the Boosters failed, but that was the effect, not the cause. The Cause was the NASA Upper Management Urbis that pushed for the Launch, without delay, in spite of others who wanted it delayed. The NASA 'guys' should have been indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter. Nothing Less. Sadly, they got a PASS! why? JMO

[@nate.hanlon]

you ever figure out why they wasn’t charged?

[@Rocky-xx2zg]

@@nate.hanlon Yes, They got a PASS for the manslaughter crime. Try committing the the same crime, and you will be in Jail for 20 years.

[@terri3673]

I'll never forgot watching this on the TV at the young age of 8. I was so excited to see the space shuttle. I remember counting down from 10 in my head, as not to disturb others. The next thing I remember is the principal rushing in to each classroom and quickly turning off the TV. Now that I think back as I angerly stared at the principal...I remember his face of disbelief and his eyes filled with water begging to dry out. Today all the pieces fit together, but back then I was a naive 8 year old angry at the man that took away my fun, as he forcibly rolled the TV away. I remember thinking, "How dare him!", and it's all his fault we were told to open our books. Ugh! Today, I look back and my heart aches for all involved. The poor family, and friends. I feel so bad for all those affected, even the principal. I even fetl bad for myself if my 8 yr old mind understood, I would of only been more sympathetic. So sad 😢 God Bless everyone involved ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ ♥ ♥ ♥

[@mrs.alucard6669]

Why didn't they listen to the engineers when they said, "Don't launch because of (insert reasons here)!"? Because they were ignored, the families of those astronauts and those children had to watch them and their teacher die. This tragedy should haunt NASA forever (and so should COLUMBIA). You all know the old adage "Careless talk costs lives"? Not listening to concerns costs lives as well.

[@VinnyGjokaj]

As an engineer,, management and especially upper management have there own view points that tend to not line up with engineers who created the actual thing… I deal with it all the time

[@calvincameron354]

What's insane to me is I work with irrigation valves...and even I know that O-Rings fail under cold temperatures. You'd think when lives are on the line it would be taken with the highest caution.

[@christopherfoote4643]

Nobody really knows. That's part of why they went through and it was especially very close to being a successful launch. It was a failure of a joint that should have closed. There is almost no way to prevent it and it's impossible to predict. I might have been inevitable. Difficult to say for certain. It's always easy to second guess a decision.

[@BakedBrain7100]

@@christopherfoote4643 That’s the complete opposite of what you should have learned here. This WAS preventable 100% and most “accidents” are human error.

[@SanjanaRanasingha]

Thank you so much for this

[@chrisrose_krii_lun_aus]

Yep I remember sitting in class watching. When it happened I said. Well that was a quick trip. One of the best paddlings I've had at school.

[@robertgettell740]

January 28, 1986 was my first day in West Germany serving Uncle Sam. Several of us were in BK watching AFN who was broadcasting the launch while waiting on the Division General to welcome us to the country. I will never forget that day.

[@FreeDocumentary]

me either

[@moromorkokaidew]

Lot's of love from world largest river island majuli 👍

[@miker4430]

Thank you engineers your brains/hearts in right place

[@clouddcloud]

This is what irresponsible management do: gamble while disregarding the experts.

[@cdelane3335]

I was in 2nd grade watching this in class. I was so interested in astronauts an space shuttles. I remember the explosion and the teachers rushed to turn it off they didn't tell us what was going on but they where visible upset tried to distract us and take out minds off of it.

[@nuclearcasserole]

i lived in Arizona at the time this happened, there was a gold colored cloud in the atmosphere that was visible for several days, really cool looking at night.

[@justbulma]

Like a kids at the time I was watching it in class in school it was the first time I got the talk about death I was 9 years old and looking back all these years later you come to a realization that you were probably not the only kid back then that got the death talk for the first time

[@forrestcitygroove]

I had just got home from 3 years in US army setting in living room watching with my Mother and said this is not good very sad moment you always remember things like this

[@darthmalfoy9416]

The bosses at NASA chose to ignore the facts, so it seems.

[@cdcoach101]

I remember watching it live , at school... devastating

[@DanSpotYT]

@Moon Cricket Please explain how it was hilarious. Be specific.

[@debisybesma5855]

i used to be able to see liftoffs from my front porch and i lived a couple hours from the "space coast." it was cool seeing that big ol' plume of smoke and knowing what it was from. never got to go TO a launch but i sure wish i had....

[@TonyMontana-bl3qe]

You couldn't pay me enough, to get on that shuttle? 🚀💥💀

[@DanSpotYT]

Why is that formed in a question?

[@glasshalffull8471]

So many moving parts have to all work perfectly together, it shouldn't need any genius to understand how rubber or an O ring in this case performs in cold weather, I wanted to be an astronaut at one point but instead decided on a career in a grocery store, very important work feeding people, flying into outta space is kinda frivolous in comparison.

[@DanSpotYT]

Well, many advancements have been achieved through space experiments as well. It isn't frivolous, mate.

[@mywifesboyfriend5558]

Mankind is destined for the stars. That's hardly frivolous.

[@LOLMAN9538]

Unbelievable how two small little O-rings could become such a big problem.

[@metropcs7608]

Very sad day. Rest in peace challenger crew. Saw it on tv in my living. Room.

[@phoenixbrazil5266]

They made us watch this in school I was 7 it was so traumatizing.

[@larrystuder8543]

What caused it? How 'bout NASA reacting to public and political pressure by rejecting its own safety protocols?

[@LichaelMewis]

35:07 WOW They knew it wasnt good enough so they approved the fix for a top secret payload but declined it for normal operations, wow, just inexcusable!

[@andrewerickson6089]

Ron McNair, the coolest astronaut ever.

[@Broken......]

Amazing

[@keensoundguy6637]

The first half of the late physicist Richard Feynman's book "What Do You Care What Other People Think" is a good account.

[@janellehoney-badger6525]

I fear that this “acceptable risk” culture may very well return with sickening consequences, with todays generation having an aversion to facts & honesty. But it’s yet to see if it stems from greed or the fear of offending whichever country is contracted to build it cheaper. Our building & transport safety standards, in Australia, have already become infected. We overlook the questionable actions of others, even giving credit over education, rather than to risk offending people. It’s mind-bending insanity to ignore facts & punish those who dare speak the truth, even at the cost of lives?

[@FreeDocumentary]

i know. I don’t get it at all. I just don’t.

[@mywifesboyfriend5558]

Worst part of all this is that the explosion didn't kill the astronauts, the crew cabin went flying into the ocean, and for those brief few moments, those people were likely in absolute terror until they hit the ocean. What a horrific way to go. NASA has so much to answer for.

[@dukeford]

More than likely they were unconscious a few moments after the explosion.

[@thetwilightadventures6]

NASA should've heeded the warnings, and learned from experience beforehand. They lost not one, but two shuttles: Challanger, and Columbia, and more importantly, the lives of the astronauts involved. my heart goes out to the friends, and families of each of the astronauts still grieving.

[@Autshot20]

NASA was warned but it was as though, if the engineers could say for sure that it would blow up as a result of the feezing temps, then it was worth the risk.

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

Typical Arrogance that is very Common in Management, resulted in Disasters in Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia.

[@DanSpotYT]

I hope you never get into management then. Pressures from above and below. If one waits for perfection, nothing would be accomplished. Sad and unfortunate fact of life.

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

@@DanSpotYT I was in Middle Management for the last 6 yrs of my working life. Easy time, only had about 2 1/2 hrs of work for the 8 hr shift, so I got to spend a lot of time on Personal Projects or just playing Golf. No one ever questioned me as to where I was, or where I was going.

[@DanSpotYT]

@@pjimmbojimmbo1990 Ah, well, you found a honey pot then. I was lead tech (lower management at that time) for a 400 seat call center and 100 retail stores all along the east coast (ME to FL). I was a day late on submitting a report and got docked by my manager. Just how it goes, eh!?! Cheers.

[@tetchuma]

And not a thing happened to Morton Thiakol management for retaliation against McDonald.

[@TonyMontana-bl3qe]

What happened to safety first? 😳

[@heroknaderi]

What A tragety. this year will mark 37 years since it happend. God bless their souls.

[@hollywood5199]

"I don't care if the shuttle blows up, as long as it's not my fault." REALLY?!😢

[@davepitts4479]

Overwhelming Administrative Incompetence. To those who stood up against the tide of "get it done" and argued for a delay, I thank you for trying. :-(

[@Bigbuddyandblue]

Redundancy? The failure process is not the part that should be redundant.

[@Davelakful]

I worked for a company that tested gaskets and o-rings for "outdoor enclosures" So obvious the different properties a outdoor enclosure (with low temperature gaskets) have compared to above freezing indoor enclosures. All those engineers involved in the manufacturing of those solid rocket boosters should have gone to jail for manslaughter.

[@ct1762]

those astronauts trusted the engineers, flight directors and controllers. All played a part in this disaster. Truly a shame, but the worst of all was the senior management. Absolutely despicable and so sad.

[@dgdave2673]

Don’t blame anyone other than the management!

[@gergozichy2370]

Sounds like history repeating itself over and over again. 🤔

[@BleedBNG]

I wondered on the day why they were launching on a cold day. I felt they should have waited for a much warmer day. They were already holding off for a couple of days. They should have waited longer. When it happened I knew something had leaked. Orings were too cold for a proper seal.

[@royaltyblessed2454]

Politics is why they launched especially with the pressure to get the Teacher into space to teach her lessons before the weekend which would had given Regan huge political points in a re-election year.

[@Wez666]

RIP Mr McDonald

[@scillyautomatic]

7:12 Recommendation for lowest safe temperature? Why was there not already a NO GO temperature set in stone??

[@darrylturner2611]

Cold day? Man it was 29 freakin degrees!! How could Nasa let this happen?

[@TonyMontana-bl3qe]

NASA. knew the dangers, and they still went forward? 🚀💥💀

[@marthaemery8402]

Every time I see an O ring, I think of Challenger.

[@Falcon-um7vo]

21:23 Darn, I wanted to hear that in Italian 🤣

[@dougschwieder3627]

Gee that's funny, I (who am no rocket scientist) saw those pictures of the ice encrusted launch platform and thought: "Gee I sure wouldn't launch a rocket with everything iced up like that". But then I thought: "But what do I know, they must have engineered all of the stuff so that having it ice encrusted wouldn't hurt anything". Then McDonald says: (paraphrasing) "I saw that thing all covered with ice and thought there's no way they'd launch with all that ice". Then I realized that even though I'm no expert, sometimes not being very confident is a good thing. Speaking of RayGun addressing the school children, I wonder how many he killed in foreign countries while playing president during George the First's 3 terms as president.

[@TonyMontana-bl3qe]

That was a certain death trap!💀 for these astronauts? 💥🚀

[@StephanieMT]

I wasnt around yet but did report on christa, in school. I was in middle school when i think it was named columbia exploded on return to earth

[@lesliehenriques62]

I thought when those engine or turned on it would eat everything up

[@MotoXplor]

Then Boeing repeats the same type of thinking with the 737 Max. Engineers should run these types of programs, not corporate profit seekers.

[@evilnemesis3459]

I was home from school sick the day this happened

[@feardabeard7635]

RIP Allan McDonald.

[@IntrepidMilo]

I remember watching this when I was in Kindergarten.

[@JimMac23]

The Apollo capsules had parachutes attached to them that landed the astronauts safely in the ocean. Why didn't the space shuttles have the same thing in case of an emergency?

[@amberkat8147]

I just don't get it. Given the cost behind building a shuttle and the fact that the negative press from a delayed launch is SO MUCH greater than the press for a delayed launch, delaying the launch to increase the odds of success should be a no-brainer. Besides, it's generally the engineers who can tell you if you're making a huge mistake, why bother to pay them if you aren't going to listen to them? The person who decided "we need to launch anyway!" and dismissed the engineers' concerns had no business being in charge.

[@huskal468]

NASA = NOT ALLOWED to SAY ANTHING! Props to Allan Mcdonald for trying to do the right and reasonable thing.

[@user-wx7id3yh7i]

🤣😂😅🤣😂

[@cdmorrissy3692]

Incompetence, laziness and criminal negligence caused the Challenger destruction....

[@MrGrace]

This was such a great profile of the Space Shuttle that I forgot it was a documentary on the Challenger disaster. The music is like an infomercial selling the Shuttles' capabilities 😂

[@hrh-xj4fh]

I remember i was watching the soap opera santa barbara when they cut in with this tragic news

[@JessicaTG2008]

Regardless of how much preparation, how much checking and rechecking and safety precaution and how much computer programmed to do it perfectly anything has in it, there will always be one thing NO ONE can fix, or change or remove. It's all built, operated and developed by a human. Things fail for ONE reason. Humans.

[@thesupportingcast6972]

My husband is an electrical engineer with a minor in mechanical engineering as well. Listen to your engineers. They are some of the most black and white (meaning no grey area) and intelligent people I know. When they raise their concerns LISTEN!!

[@rekunta]

Good documentary innit? What I don’t understand is why the heat of the burning SRB didn’t rapidly thaw out the O-Ring which could then expand and make a seal?

[@danielvogel5252]

The o ring was already thermally damaged... in other words, cracks had formed. The SRB burn had already escaped through one of the cracks which subsequently burned off not only more of the ring, but the metal surrounding it. This created a jet of flame that not only burned the ring and the base material of the SRB section, but also through the insulation on the fuel tank, through the outer layer of the tank, and then subsequently through the LOX tank itself... after the SRB mounting strut was also cut and tore away from the tank, which twisted the booster into the tank causing even further damage. Once the LOX tank was compromised, the mission went bad with a bang.

[@htownqueen663]

@@danielvogel5252 wow. Thanks for explaining.

[@steverodgers1979]

Why does the narrator say, several times, that Paulo Nespoli flew on the Challenger in 2007? The thing blew up in 1986.

[@maryexstroughtonaire4244]

RIP Roger Boisjoly 😢💔