Tried To Halt Challenger Launch In 1986

The engineer who tried to convince NASA to postpone the January 28, 1986 launch of Challenger that resulted in the loss of the spacecraft and seven astronauts has Gone West at the age of 73.

Roger Boisjoly worked for solid rocket booster contractor Morton Thiokol, and the Los Angeles Times reports that he began warning of a possible "O" ring failure in cold weather as early as 1985. He and four other engineers reportedly argued late into the night the day before the launch that it should not take place.

However, NASA's senior engineers told Boisjoly and his colleagues that they had failed to make their case, and the launch proceeded as scheduled. We all know the outcome of that launch. Boisjoly was said to be so sure of what was about to happen that he reportedly could not watch the launch.

The tragedy led Boisjoly to believe that NASA could not be trusted to make the correct decisions in such situations.

Boisjoly told the LA Times in a 2003 interview that NASA had tried to blackball him from the industry for his actions, and he spent the remainder of his career as a forensic engineer and a lecturer on engineering ethics.

He died January 6th in Nephi, UT, where he lived in retirement.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.history.com/topics/challenger-disaster