The first two of the three O-ring seals were failing regularly. They knew. I walked into my living room off a graveyard shift. Turned on a tv and watched the rerun of the explosion of Challenger. Schools all over Idaho had the tv’s on too. They watched without knowing it was greed and stupidity of NASA management’s fault. If You fail the first two levels of a three level risk blocker and keep going you’re an idiot.
The first two of the three O-ring seals were failing regularly.
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No they weren’t, but the engineers knew they couldn’t take the cold.
NASA management also knew the Apollo 1 fire was likely. They also knew that a foam strike could be deadly and that Columbia was struck. They didn’t care. While Columbia was in orbit, another Shuttle was on the pad that could have been launched to rescue the Columbia crew.