30 Years After Explosion, Challenger Engineer Still Blames Himself

Thirty years ago, when the country lost seven astronauts at the Challenger Space Shuttle, Bob Eberling was deeply absorbed in his own deep pain.

On the eve of the launch, the other four engineers at Ebeling and NASA contractor Morton Thiokol tried to stop the launch. Their manager and NASA have defeated them

When an attacker exploded in 73 seconds after launch, Ebeling and his colleague fainted in the conference room at Thiokol headquarters in the suburb of Brigham, Utah. They saw the spacecraft explode on a huge TV screen, and they knew exactly what happened.

Three weeks later, Ebeling and other engineers gave the NPR a detailed account of the first account of the controversial pre-release conference. They all explained about data review and discussion for hours, and they all started irritated and burst into tears. According to the data, the rubber seal of the space shuttle booster rocket will not be adequately sealed at cold temperatures, it will be the coldest launch ever.

Ebering of 89 years old decided to let NPR acknowledge him at the 30 th anniversary of the explosion of Challenger.

"I am one of a few people really close to this situation," Ebelin recalls. "When they listen to what I mean and wait for the weather to change, they may have completely different results."

Thirty years ago, we said that Ebeling does not want to use his name or record his voice in the same house, kitchen, and living room. He is concerned about losing his job.

"NASA has dominated the launch," he explained. "Their thoughts are growing, they prove to the world what is right, they know what they are doing, but they are not."

The President's Committee found defects in the decision making process of the space agency. However, the reason why NASA wants to launch without delay is not clear.

The year's space shuttle program had an ambitious launch plan, and NASA wanted to prove that it will be launched on a regular and reliable basis. President Ronald Reagan was also preparing to submit a national state speech that night and planned to promote the challenger's conference, allegedly reported.

"NASA officials and Tiocor managers say there are enough people to say there," Hey, let's give it a day or two, "Ebeling remembers. "But no one is doing this."

After the challenger, Ebeling retired quickly. He suffered from a serious depression and he could not relieve the burden of guilt. When he saw an unforgettable image on the TV screen again in 1986, he said, "I may have done more, I should do more."

He sat the same thing in the big chair in the same living room and said the same thing, his eyes are watery, his face is serious. The data provided by him and his engineers, and their long-standing, sometimes angry arguments are not enough to influence Thiokol's manager and NASA officials. Eberling concluded that he was not enough. He does not fully show the data

"I think this is one of the mistakes of God," Eveline said softly. "He should not choose my job, but when I next talk to him, I will ask him," Why did you choose a loser? "

I reminded him of his deceased colleague and friend Roger Boisjoly told me. Boisjoly is another Thiokol engineer who spoke anonymously with NPR 30 years ago. He began to believe that he and Ebeling and his colleagues did their best.

"We are talking with the right people," Boisjoly told me. "We are talking to people who have the ability to stop this launch."

For one year before the release, Match.com was still working on a 30 year old engineer, Gary Kremen. That year, Clement borrowed $ 2,500 from a credit card to buy a domain name, opened a small office in San Francisco, and purchased a computer server from Sun Microsystems. In the first major television interview after the site was launched and managed, Kremen wears a necktie dyed shirt and his company promised to "give more love to the earth than anything since Jesus Christ" did. Match.com is growing fast. By October 1996, 100,000 people registered, and by 1997 the company boasted 150 couple who met through the site. 41

In 1986, the explosive explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger caused a warning from NASA. By 2003, the high standards and procedures according to the challenger have disappeared. What to worry about is under the flag of "ordinary". Ciannilli answered, "Be cautious when actions that are outdated become normal, do not forget to make decisions based on facts." In response to pressures from Congress, NASA reassigned key personnel, including Space Shuttle Project Manager Ron Dittemore, Kennedy Space Center Roy Bridges Director, and Mission Management Leader Linda Ham.