Truth, Lies, and O-Rings : Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

What they didnrs"t want you to know "We all watched in shock and disbelief whenChallengerwas lost. Probably no one felt more disappointment and regret than Allan McDonald, who had warned us not to launch that day. His story tells of loss, grief, and the eventual rebuilding and recovery."--Robert "Hoot" Gibson, former Space Shuttle pilot and commander "A major contribution to a difficult episode in the history of human spaceflight."--Roger D. Launius, Division of Space History, Smithsonian Institution "McDonald tells the heartbreaking tale of how he saw his words of warning ignored, and the fateful consequences of that decision."--Donald C. Elder III, Eastern New Mexico University On a cold January morning in 1986, NASA launched the Space ShuttleChallenger,despite warnings against doing so by many individuals, including Allan McDonald. The fiery destruction ofChallengeron live television moments after launch remains an indelible image in the nationrs"s collective memory. InTruth, Lies, and O-Rings,McDonald, a skilled engineer and executive, relives the tragedy from where he stood at Launch Control Center. As he fought to draw attention to the real reasons behind the disaster, he was the only one targeted for retribution by both NASA and his employer, Morton Thiokol, Inc., makers of the shuttlers"s solid rocket boosters. In this whistle-blowing yet rigorous and fair-minded book, McDonald, with the assistance of internationally distinguished aerospace historian James R. Hansen, addressesallof the factors that led to the accident, some of which were never included in NASArs"s Failure Team report submitted to the Presidential Commission. Truth, Lies, and O-Ringsis the first look at theChallengertragedy and its aftermath from someone who was on the inside, recognized the potential disaster, and tried to prevent it. It also addresses the early warnings of very severe debris issues from the first two post-Challengerflights, which ultimately resulted in the loss ofColumbiasome fifteen years later.