I started my career in rocket propulsion in 1959 working on the Minuteman I- ICBM and later I worked on nearly every ICBM, including the Air Force’s Minuteman I,II, & III and Peacekeeper and the Navy’s Poseidon C3 and Trident I & II. However, my most memorable experience was working on the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters.
Challenger Accident (NASA 1986)
This turned out to be a life-changing experience for me because of the Challenger accident that I had tried to prevent because of the concerns raised by engineers about the ability of the O-rings in the field joints to properly seal in such cold temperatures. When Challenger failed, I ended up in the spotlight because I revealed this problem to the Presidential Commission investigating the accident after NASA had told them there were no concerns raised the night before the launch.
I was immediately removed from my position as Director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project at Morton Thiokol. I was later reinstated to my position by an act of Congress–the only person in American history to which this has ever happened. I was given the job of leading the effort to return the space shuttle to safe flight ASAP, which was accomplished 32 months later. Even though I will never forget Challenger, I am most proud of the 110 consecutive successful launches of the Space Shuttle with the redesigned solid rocket boosters prior to retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011. I am particularly pleased that a 5-segment version of these boosters has been selected to boost the next generation launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS).
I wrote a book called Truth, Lies, and O-rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster about my experiences with the help of Dr. James Hansen from Auburn University. Dr. Hansen also wrote Neil Armstrong’s biography.
#IAmGenSpace
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