Checking your work — CCA-F Exam Prep

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The Challenger space shuttle on the launch pad at dawn. Icicles visible on the launch structure. Temperature readout shows 36F. In the foreground, an engineer holds a paper showing O-ring failure data. His face shows dread. Cold morning, January 1986.

T-minus 73 seconds.

The Challenger space shuttle. January 28, 1986. An engineer named Roger Boisjoly saw the O-ring data. It showed failure risk below 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Launch temperature: 36 degrees.

He raised the concern. Presented the data. Recommended delaying launch. Management overruled. The check was done. The result was ignored.

7 people died. 73 seconds after liftoff.