[DiogenesLamp]

The O-Ring failures were caused by the panic over asbestos. The original rings were made with Asbestos, but because everyone became terrified of Asbestos, NASA demanded they make new rings without Asbestos.

The Asbestos rings never failed. The replacements could not handle the heat if they didn't seal. The Asbestos rings would have been just fine, and nobody would have died from that cause.

[Dan in Wichita]

IIRC, the O-rings failed on Challenger because the temps dropped into the 30's, preventing them from sealing properly on that fateful day.

One of engineers (whose name I cannot remember) closely associated with the fabrication of the O-rings vociferously pleaded not to launch because it was too cold for the O-rings to function properly. Obviously, he was overruled.

[Myrddin]

A similar stupidity emerged over containment of nuclear waste. The "greenies" influenced the content of materials used to make the "casks". The consequence was an organic material that rapidly failed in storage. When politicians have more influence than competent engineers, bad things happen.

[MayflowerMadam]

Yup. Hubby was in aerospace then.

Crazy NASA people making deadly decisions.