I was one of the accident investigators. NASA knew there were serious problems but launched anyway.

Gen. Chuck Yeager twitter ^ | January 28, 2019 | Gen Chuck Yeager

[JohnnyP]

What the late Ray Breen BRIEM referred to as “getthereitis”.

He was a great radio host. Thanks for the memories.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/13/local/la-me-ray-briem-20121214

[cpdiii]

"It’s the money, to hell with the people."

It was not the money it was the politics that made them launch. Thikol engineers that made the boosters advised not to launch due to the temperature at the time of the launch. They knew full well the O Rings would probably not seal properly at the ambient temperatures at the time of launch.

NASA politics killed.

[cpdiii]

The astronauts were likely alive all the way down.

The investigation showed they were alive.

[cpdiii]

My personal comments about the shuttle program is it was idiocy. The useful payload the shuttle could launch into orbit was much smaller than its weight.

The Russians had it right. Big rockets and big payloads with a small reentry vehicle for astronauts. Every pound of the shuttle represented useless weight to orbit.

[Paladin2]

Holey Cow, you some like some kinda Feynman thinker or somethin’.

[Paladin2]

It was that crazy rubber stuff....

[So temperature dependent]

[KC Burke]

We old timers have to stick together.

[Figment]

“The offending compound was asbestos, I believe.”

The lack of asbestos in the sealing putty has been blamed by engineers

[Figment]

“since he’s dead”

Not yet

[Figment]

I remember that thread. It got kudos in the WSJ I think for being the first report of what had happened.

[DiogenesLamp]

My personal comments about the shuttle program is it was idiocy. The useful payload the shuttle could launch into orbit was much smaller than its weight. The Russians had it right. Big rockets and big payloads with a small reentry vehicle for astronauts. Every pound of the shuttle represented useless weight to orbit.

That is exactly what that rocket scientist "Bell" said when I read his article in the local paper back in the 1990s.

The wings exerted a side force while it was being lofted aloft. The wings represented dead weight that could have been replaced by greater payload capacity, and so on.

He pointed out dozens of things that were wrong with the very concept of the space shuttle.

I don't remember the guy's full name, but I remember his last name was "Bell", and he formerly worked as a rocket scientist for NASA, and he lived in Hawaii.

[trebb]

I was at OSAN AFB in S. Korea - having my first cup of coffee as I got ready for work.

[TomServo]

lol - Don’t I know it ;-)

[NorthMountain]

Wha the late Ray Breen referred to as “getthereitis”

Takeoff is optional.

Landing is mandatory.