Allison P. | Red Phoenix international correspondent–

You wake up, check the clock – it is Jan 27, 1986. You are an engineer for Thiokol.

You have the benefit of hindsight, you know what happens during tomorrow’s launch.

You are called into a meeting with a number of other engineers and Marshall. Two engineers are concerned about the temperature regarding erosion of the O-rings in the tang and clevis joint. They think the risk is too great.

You have the benefit of hindsight, you know what happens during tomorrow’s launch.

Do you stand up? You know what happens tomorrow.

You wake up, check the clock – it is Jan 27, 1986. You are an engineer for Thiokol.

You do not have the benefit of hindsight, you do not know what happens during  tomorrow’s launch.

You are called into a meeting with a number of other engineers and Marshall. Two engineers are concerned about the temperature regarding erosion of the O-rings in the tang and clevis joint. They think the risk is too great.

You do not have the benefit of hindsight, you do not know what happens during tomorrow’s launch.

The engineers fax over a number of sheets. The engineers recommend not launching at a temperature lower than 53 F. This is significantly higher than previous recommendations. The O-ring erosion issue is well known. Every launch had erosion; it was normal. High erosion had been experienced at much higher temperatures; it was normal. The engineers think it is a risk, but no one expects a catastrophic failure^†.

Do you stand up? No, you don’t. No one else did, the data was shaky, information was muddled, it was colder than before but within tolerance – it was normal. It will be fine like the other launches were – you don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

You wake up, check the clock — you cannot read the date. Challenger is launching today. Is it 1986?

This was never about Challenger. Do you stand up?

†Robert Ebeling believed a catastrophic failure was likely but did not stop the meeting.

Categories: Literature, Media & Culture