The direct technical cause of the Challenger disaster in 1986 was
A) a leaking O-ring in a fuel tank, which could not cope with the unusually low temperature at the day of the take-off.
B) a lack of respect for the NSPE code of ethics, which stipulates that engineers shall hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the public.
C) foam-shedding, which was caused by the unusually low temperature at the day of the take-off.
D) normalization of deviance.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Challenger disaster was directly caused by a failure of the O-ring seals in the right solid rocket booster, which allowed pressurized burning gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB aft field joint attachment hardware and external fuel tank. This failure was exacerbated by the unusually low temperatures on the day of the launch.

The Direct Technical Cause of the Challenger Disaster in 1986