JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – We just recovered from a freeze that lowered Jacksonville’s temperatures to 26 degrees on Saturday. Thirty-nine years ago, temperatures dipped to eerily similar frigid conditions on Jan. 28, 1986, at Kennedy Space Center.
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That date marked the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. The low temperature in Melbourne that morning was 26°F, a record low for the day which still stands 39 years later.
The frigid forecast for the Challenger’s launch, with temperatures expected to drop into the mid-20s, raised serious safety concerns, particularly about the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters (SRB).
Weather factors were a concern in addition to NASA and contractor management’s initial neglect to recognize the SRB design problems, then failed to fix it, and finally treated it as an acceptable flight risk.
Engineers had warned that the low temperatures could cause the O-rings, vital seals on the boosters, to become brittle and fail.
Significant ice covered parts of the launch tower, but managers determined it was not enough of a concern to delay the launch.
Those who made that decision were unaware of the recent history of problems concerning the O-rings and didn’t know about the initial contractor’s written recommendation advising against the launch at temperatures below 53°F.
Despite these warnings, management at NASA made the fateful decision to proceed with the launch.
Findings from the Rogers Commission Report concluded that there were severe errors in the decision-making process leading up to the launch, as well. They determined that if there was a better management and safety system in place, concerns about the Solid rocket booster seals would have been taken more seriously and the launch might not have occurred.
At the time, NASA’s performance specification did not include the known weather conditions that occurred in Florida during the winter months.
In the aftermath, NASA revised its weather protocols, tightening temperature restrictions and enhancing safety review processes to prevent future management oversights and ensure that safety would always take precedence over schedule.