Challenger Launch Decision

JOE KILMINSTER'S ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE CHALLENGER DISASTER

On January 28, 1986, the Challenger, one of the reusable space shuttle by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, was launched off at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida but exploded 72 seconds after liftoff. The launch was approved and ordered by the management of the Morton Thiokol, Inc., an aerospace company, that manufactures solid propellant rocket motors for big clients, including the NASA, and per NASA's urging despite the objection of Morton Thiokol's engineers that the 30-degree F. temperature was inclement to the shuttle's boosters. The launch was a publicized event as NASA's 25th mission and had a selected teacher, Christa McAulifee and six astronauts on board. All these passengers perished (Jennings 1996).

The launch was repeatedly postponed because the engineers of Thiokol notes the failure of an O. ring assembly in the...
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