The Explorers' Club, № MXCVII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Prelude
July 1985: Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly, after investigating the "blow-by" damage to the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters' O-rings from S.T.S.-51-C, sent a memorandum to his superiors warning of the potential for O-ring failure to result in "a catastrophe of the highest order" due to the flawed S.R.B. design, especially if exacerbated by cold temperatures at launch; he was unheeded.

Commentary: S.T.S.-51-C launched on 24 January 1985; the S.R.B. O-ring temperature at launch had been fifty-three degrees Fahrenheit (53º F), the coldest yet. Overnight S.R.B. O-ring temperatures on 28 January 1986, prior to the launch of S.T.S.-51-L, dropped to eight degrees Fahrenheit (8º F).

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day
Operation Ivy, "Take Warning" from the Operation Ivy compilation (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.