Episode 45: μ: Was the Challenger an engineering failure?

The Space Shuttle Challengers Explosion rocked America to its core. Was this issue actually caused by engineering or was it a management mistake. Delve into the story of the Rogers Commission and their findings on Morton Thiokols Solid Rocket Boosters and O-Ring.

Articles Discussed:

• 2006 Challenger: Reporting a Disaster's Cold, Hard Fact LINK
• 2019 Challenger: The shuttle disaster that changed NASALINK
• 2016 A famous physicist’s simple experiment showed the inevitability of the Challenger disasterLINK
• 2016 THE CHALLENGER DISASTER: A CASE OF SUBJECTIVE ENGINEERING LINK
• 2008 NASA Remembers Three Space Tragedies LINK
• 1986 INVESTIGATION OF THE CHALLENGER ACCIDENT LINK

This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show!

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Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (editing assistance, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (editing assistance, co-creator), Jared Duffy (co-host, production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (co-host).

Keywords: NASA O-ring Challenger Space Shuttle Discovery Disaster

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