Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Review

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Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster ReviewI first heard about this book a few months ago at [...]. Indeed, the title seemed somewhat tabloid I would say as it was about as blunt as an anvil falling on Willie Coyote's head in a Road Runner cartoon. I had some reservations picking it up until I learned that one of the authors was James Hansen, a former NASA historian who is currently a history professor at Auburn University (and of course, writer of "First Man" about Neil Armstrong). McDonald was a bit of a wildcard as although I recalled his name from the Challenger investigation, this was his first book and I wasn't exactly sure how it would be written. But, I knew if Hansen was involved after reading First Man and its even handed portrayal of Neil, then the book had to be in good hands. James takes his responsibilities very seriously and he doesn't stick his name with a project unless he knows it can provide a proper insight into the historical perspective of people and events.
Allan McDonald was both and engineer and manager working for Morton Thiokol on the space shuttle solid rocket booster program. He wasn't one of the individuals involved with the original design of the motor, but he was heavily involved during the ramp up of production after the shuttle's first test flights. Ironically it was his participation in the accident investigation of an explosion at one of the SRB propellant casting facilities that brought him into the shuttle SRB program. He became a program manager for the Filament Wound Casing SRBs being tested and built for shuttle launches from Vandenberg AFB (that program was cancelled after Challenger). He also became the chairman of the Senior Materials Review Board for the Solid Rocket Motors. This board was tasked with tracking all the discrepancies found in the SRB hardware both before, during and after use and Allan had to sign off on the recommendations to accept or reject hardware for use.
Fast forward to January 27, 1986 with the very unusual meeting/teleconference between NASA SRB program managers and Morton Thiokol concerning the topic of launching in cold temperatures and how the cold might affect performance of the O-rings in the Solid Rocket Booster field joints. McDonald was there and gave his input (and rather vocally expressed both his concerns and doubts). He was a ground floor witness to what happened on both that night and the next day.
Allan's book tells the story from before Challenger to after flights resumed with the redesigned SRB field joints. It documents very well the events that lead up to the destruction of the shuttle and both the investigations that took place as well as the Rogers Commission hearings (both in front of and behind the scenes). It was Allan's testimony that focused attention on the field joints as well as the January 27 teleconference.
In this book you get it all from his perspective. Indeed he took very thorough notes at the time of Challenger as he wanted to make sure he got his story straight. It was revealed in the brief mini-biography of McDonald at the end (written by James Hansen) that he studied pre-law at Eastern Montana College before pursuing engineering instead. His brother John went on to become a law professor. As such, I have a feeling that those classes prepared him somewhat for how he handled himself during those long months of investigation and testimony.
He certainly pulls no punches as he has things to say about both the NASA managers at the Marshall Spaceflight Center and his own bosses at Morton Thiokol (and a couple members of Congress who tried to grandstand a bit for their own political gain). The entire Challenger affair got Allan labeled a "whistleblower" and it affected his career somewhat. But, he did stick around and was very instrumental in the re-design of the solid rocket motor field joints. Those redesigned joints continue to be used today in the shuttle program and elements are intended for use in the Solid rocket motors designed for the Ares program.
Some might wonder if Allan really is the truth telling champion he comes off as in the book. But many of his co-workers and colleagues from that time say he is indeed that way. Looking at the advance praise quotations on the back of the book should give you a glimpse into that as two come from the a pair of the most highly regarded astronauts in the space program (Hoot Gibson and John Young). John Young very rarely associates his name with ANYTHING unless it is a quality product. It also gets back to why James Hansen got involved as well.
What I took away from this title was a few things. First, people talk about trying to fool Mother Nature, but the laws of physics can be even more cruel if you try to play Russian Roulette with them. "CYA" can't overcome what engineering data is saying and if lives are on the line, what the data is saying becomes far more critical then a person, company or agency's reputation. I also took from this title that there are indeed still honest people out there, ones willing to put their reputations on the line to speak out if they don't think something is right. Honesty and integrity are two values we don't hear about much these days as it seems some very shallow people tend to command the news headlines. Allan also has a very healthy sense of humor too. Read "The Green Ball Theory" and you'll get the idea. If this theory can make a Nobel Prize winning physicist laugh, it must be good.
I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the space and shuttle programs, or complex engineering projects. Studying the failures and accidents in the space program are just as important as studying the successes, otherwise we could be doomed to repeat them or have similar failures. I feel this book should also be required reading for engineering students. Granted not all engineers will end up working on something as critical as hardware for the space program. But there are lessons to be learned here as well.
For those that don't have a formal education in engineering, the book can drag a little at the beginning. But I urge you to keep reading as what is written in those early chapters has direct bearing on what comes later. In my own case, although I have researched the shuttle program extensively, this book explained to me clearly how the solid rocket motor field joints operated. In fact when I picked up the book, I couldn't put it down as I spent most of a weekend reading it from cover to cover. This is why I give the title five stars.Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Overview

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