Challenger Disaster | Launch Day | 3

In the tense hours leading up to the Challenger launch, engineers and managers at NASA and its contractor Morton Thiokol heatedly argue over whether to move forward, despite freezing temperatures that threaten to compromise the rocket boosters’ O-Rings. Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter Listen to American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-scandal/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• 0:00Lindsay Graham?

  Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.

• 0:24Lindsay Graham?

  It's January 27th, 1986, at 6:00 PM in Titusville, Florida, a few miles from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Al McDonald, the director of Morton Thiacall's space shuttle rocket program, is staying in Titusville at a colleague's house. He's in town for the latest mission of the space shuttle Challenger, which is expected to be the most-watched launch in the shuttle program's history, thanks to the presence of Krista McAuliffe, the high school teacher who's about to become the first civilian in space. There's so much anticipation around the launch that McDonald couldn't find a hotel room. Everything for miles around Cape Canaveral is booked. But McDonald is not sharing in that excitement.

• 1:05Lindsay Graham?

  Instead, he's sitting alone at his colleague's kitchen table, holding his head in his hands. He's just received a call from someone at Thiacall's headquarters in Utah urging him to postpone tomorrow's launch. According to the weather forecast, overnight temperatures at Cape Canaveral are expected to plunge below freezing, and that's a big problem. McDonald's company Thiacall is responsible for manufacturing the thin rubber O-rings that seal the joints on the shuttle's two rocket boosters. And based on their testing, Thiacall engineers have determined that the O-rings become unreliable at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. If even one set of them were to fail during launch, the entire shuttle could explode.

• 1:48Lindsay Graham?

  Given this risk, delaying the launch should be an easy call to make, but McDonald knows it won't be. Thanks to the presence of McAuliffe, this Challenger mission has become a media circus, and it was already postponed once this morning after a series of other technical issues. McDonald knows that NASA is under intense pressure to avoid any further delays, and that asking the agency to postpone a second time could jeopardize Thiacall's relationship with their biggest client. So McDonald is going to need to present NASA with data showing why a postponement is necessary.

• 2:24Lindsay Graham?

  McDonald picks up the phone and dials Bob Ebling, a senior Thiacol engineer back in Utah. Hello, this is Bob Ebling. Hey Bob, it's Al McDonald here on the Cape. Hey Al, how's the beautiful Florida weather? Not so beautiful. They're saying it could be 26 degrees during the launch window tomorrow. That low? Might as well be launching from Chicago. Well, that's why I called. Sounds like you and the other engineers in Utah are unanimous that under these conditions, tomorrow's launch needs to be canceled. Yeah, that's right. I was already worried, sick about it, but below freezing, huh? I'm right there with you, but we need to get the decision makers at Thiacol and NASA to agree. Alright, what do you need? I need to have your guys estimate how cold O-rings will get inside the boosters if

• 3:07Lindsay Graham?

  the temperature outside is 25 degrees, 30 degrees, 35 degrees, etc., and then calculate how the O-rings will perform in each and every scenario. Alright. Then I need you to come up with a definitive minimum temperature for the O-rings to function properly and ensure a safe launch. Well, I can tell you right now, if it's anything close to those temperatures in the forecast, the O-rings are not going to form a tight seal. Yeah, but we need a firm, specific number we all agree on, and we need to stick to it. Okay, I understand. I'll put it together. I appreciate it, but it's gonna be tough. There's gonna be a big conference call between everyone at Thiacol and NASA at 8:00 PM tonight. You've only got about two hours to gather the data. Oh wow, okay. Well, we'll do the best we can. Don't waste any time putting together any fancy slides, just get the numbers squared away.

• 3:52Lindsay Graham?

  We need to make sure this is an engineering decision, not some management decision. Understood, Al. I'll have those numbers for you as soon as possible.

• 4:02Lindsay Graham?

  As McDonald hangs up, he's already thinking about the next call he has to make. And he's dreading it. He needs to talk to Larry Malloy, the hard-headed NASA manager who oversees the rocket booster program. McDonald has a feeling Malloy will be the most difficult to convince in this upcoming meeting, and he needs to begin easing him into the idea of canceling tomorrow's launch. The lives of seven astronauts could depend on it.

• 4:30Speaker 01

  In New Orleans, truckers kept getting sideswiped the exact same way. When a man is found murdered under questionable circumstances related to these accidents, the rubber hits the road. Listen to Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe wherever you get your podcasts.

• 4:49Speaker 02

  I'm Gemma Whelan, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we tell the story of the original femme fatale, the spy who was Mata Hari. A famous dancer turned World War I secret agent, accused of seducing Allied officers to uncover their plans. But was she a temptress or a scapegoat for French failures? Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Was Mata Hari, early and at free on Audible.

• 5:27Lindsay Graham?

  From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scandal.

• 5:51Lindsay Graham?

  In January of 1986, NASA was ready for the most high-profile launch yet of its four-year-old space shuttle program, the Teacher in Space mission, which would send the first American civilian, Krista McAuliffe, into orbit aboard the Challenger. But behind the scenes, there were warning signs that the mission might not go according to plan. As far back as four years ago, in 1982, engineers had identified a design flaw in a key component of the shuttle, the synthetic rubber gaskets called O-rings, which form the seals between different segments of the rocket boosters that propelled the shuttle into orbit. After several shuttle launches, when the boosters were recovered, the O-rings had been partially burned away by leaking rocket fuel. So far, the leaks had not caused a catastrophic failure.

• 6:36Lindsay Graham?

  But at Morton Thiokol, the contractor that had built the rockets, some engineers became convinced that with each passing launch, NASA was playing Russian roulette with the lives of its astronauts. While trying to find a solution to the O-ring issue, Thiokol engineer Roger Bojolay identified the likeliest cause: cold temperatures, which made the synthetic rubber brittle and unable to form a tight seal. But when he presented his concerns to engineering colleagues at NASA, he was told, "We don't want to hear that." One of the space shuttle's primary functions was to deliver military and communication satellites into orbit and prove that space travel could be as routine and cost-effective as commercial air travel. So NASA was under intense pressure

• 7:18Lindsay Graham?

  to stick to an ambitious schedule of more than a dozen launches a year. And to them, the known flaw in the O-rings constituted an acceptable risk. But when it became clear that NASA was planning to launch the Challenger in temperatures below freezing, engineers realized they had to take a stand. This is episode 3: Launch Day.

• 7:42Lindsay Graham?

  It's 8:15 PM on the night of January 27, 1986, at Morton Thiokol headquarters in Utah. Inside a glass-walled conference room, Robert Bojolay and a dozen of his fellow engineers are seated around a table along with a handful of Thiokol executives. In just a few minutes, they'll be joining an emergency teleconference with NASA, and the tension in the room is palpable. Bojolay is on a mission tonight to convince the executives at NASA and his own company to cancel the Challenger launch, but he's not entirely confident in the materials he has to make his case. Bojolay and his colleagues have only had a few hours to prepare for this meeting, so all they've managed to cobble together are some hand-drawn charts and rough estimates. They've also been left with no time to coordinate with each other

• 8:27Lindsay Graham?

  and rehearse what they're going to say, and time has run out. As the Thiokol executive clicks on the speakerphone, the teleconference begins. Bojolay's fellow engineer Brian Russell starts by giving an overview of the history of the O-ring issue, and then it's Bojolay's turn to speak. He directs everyone's attention to a handmade sketch illustrating the basic design of each joint on the rocket boosters, which has been faxed over to NASA for review. Bejolay reminds everyone that the O-ring's function is to expand quickly to seal the booster joint and prevent a fuel leak. To do this effectively, each O-ring has to be flexible enough to expand within milliseconds. And if it does not, and superheated gas begins

• 9:08Lindsay Graham?

  to escape through the joint, it can burn through the O-rings, making the leak progressively worse. Bejolay goes on to point out that tomorrow morning is projected to be 20 degrees colder than any shuttle launch in history, and at temperatures that cold, the O-rings become less elastic, rendering them incapable of doing the one thing they were designed to do: expanding quickly to seal the booster joint, preventing a leak and quite possibly an explosion. As Bejolay ends his presentation, he sits back in his chair, hoping that his message has finally gotten through. But before he can take a breath, he hears a familiar skeptical voice over the speakerphone. Larry Malloy, the manager of NASA's solid rocket booster

• 9:50Lindsay Graham?

  program, is joining the call from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. And he asks if Bejolay has any more data to share. Bejolay says he doesn't, but he remains firm on his key point. The numbers he does have clearly show that the colder it gets, the worse the O-rings perform. Malloy pauses for a moment before announcing that Bejolay is just making assumptions. He says that Diacall's data is thin and inconclusive, and he notes that in other cool weather launches, most of the booster's joints performed fine. Bejolay admits that Malloy is technically correct. Not every O-ring launched in cold weather has shown signs of damage. But he reminds Malloy that NASA bears the burden

• 10:31Lindsay Graham?

  to prove that a launch is safe before signing off on it. But Malloy snaps back, declaring that the burden of proof is on Diacall. If they want to halt the launch, then they have to prove it's not safe. And unless they can do that, the launch will remain on schedule. Beaujolais is left speechless. Malloy seems to be changing NASA's safety policy just hours before launch. Beaujolais looks around at his fellow engineers for help, but they appear to be just as stunned as he is. The emergency teleconference continues for another hour, with other Thiacal engineers stepping in to offer their analysis and opinion. All of them are unanimous in their support for canceling the launch. And then finally, after all the discussion, NASA asks Thiacal's management for their

• 11:16Lindsay Graham?

  official recommendation. Bob Lund, Thiacal's vice president for engineering, says that based on the available data, he would not recommend launching at temperatures below 53 degrees. And Joseph Kilminster, the vice president for the rocket booster program, agrees. But NASA's Larry Malloy still won't consent to canceling the launch. He continues to poke holes in the Thiacal engineers' reasoning, citing multiple examples of occasions when the O-rings performed fine in cold temperatures. He points out that the subcontractor that makes the O-rings says that they can perform in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees. Malloy also accuses the Thiacal engineers of trying to change their launch criteria

• 11:57Lindsay Graham?

  at the last minute, and notes angrily that if he accepts this 53-degree cutoff, it could wreak havoc on NASA's entire schedule of upcoming shuttle launches. With the tension on the call growing by the minute, Kilminster suggests that his team of Thiacal engineers and managers take a break to discuss the issue internally, and puts the speakerphone on mute. Sitting at the head of the table, Kilminster looks around the room. As a senior leader on the booster program, he knows his opinion carries a lot of weight. But he feels trapped between a rock and a hard place. He understands the engineers' position and sides with them, but as an executive, he also has to weigh his company's business concerns. If his team refuses to recommend a launch at the last minute and creates a new precedent

• 12:41Lindsay Graham?

  based on temperature, he could be jeopardizing Thiacal's entire relationship with NASA. Senior vice president Jerry Mason, the highest-ranking Thiacal executive in the room, speaks first. He argues that yes, the O-rings have shown damage in previous launches, but they've been able to avoid total failure so far. Each joint has a secondary O-ring, and those have always functioned successfully as a backup. But hearing this, Roger Bojolay leaps from his seat, storms across the room, and slams a photo on the table in front of Mason. It's a picture of both the primary and secondary O-rings from a launch last January, and both are clearly singed, covered in black soot. Kilminster is still leaning towards siding with the engineers,

• 13:25Lindsay Graham?

  and he hopes Bojolay's outburst is enough to sway Mason. But Mason just silently glares at Bojolay, until the engineer finally returns to his seat. After nearly half an hour of debate, Mason announces that he's going to poll the room on whether or not to recommend a launch. But he explains, the engineers will not be getting a vote. Only the vice presidents will be deciding the Challenger's fate, which means Mason, Kilminster, Lund, and fellow executive Cal Wiggins have a decision to make, and it has to be unanimous. As they go around the table, Kilminster feels a knot growing in his stomach. Mason votes first, saying he thinks they should go ahead with the launch. Then Mason turns to Wiggins, who quickly agrees with Mason,

• 14:07Lindsay Graham?

  and Kilminster isn't surprised, Wiggins is Mason's loyal sidekick. Then Mason turns to Kilminster for his vote. He pauses to consider, knowing the engineers are right, tomorrow's launch is too risky. But now his boss is staring him down, and Kilminster realizes that if he votes no, Mason could hold him personally responsible for losing Thiokol's most important contract. So Kilminster lowers his head, unable to look his engineers in the eyes, and quietly says, he thinks they should launch. Now the final vote comes down to Lund, and Mason tells him to take off his engineering hat and put on his management hat. It's time to step up and make a business decision.

• 14:49Lindsay Graham?

  Kilminster watches as Lund puts both hands into the air, palms facing forward like a soldier surrendering at gunpoint. Then Lund says, he agrees with Mason, they should recommend the launch. Kilminster feels nauseous, knowing there's no turning back from here. He unmutes the speakerphone and announces to his counterparts at NASA that while the Thiokol executives remain concerned about the temperature, they agree that the engineers' data is inconclusive. They are now recommending the Challenger launch should go forward.

• 15:21Lindsay Graham?

  Larry Malloy is pleased to hear this, but others within NASA are surprised by the sudden reversal. Looking to provide cover, NASA executive George Hardy tells Thiacal that he'll need to have their official recommendation put into writing. So they look to Al McDonald, the lead Thiacal manager on the ground in Cape Canaveral, to lend his signature. But McDonald remains adamant that the launch should not go forward and refuses to put his name on the recommendation. He explains that if anything goes wrong with the shuttle tomorrow, he does not want to be the one who has to answer it. So any signed recommendation will have to come from Thiacal headquarters in Utah. Joseph Kilminster and Bob Lund exchange a look.

• 16:01Lindsay Graham?

  Just moments ago, they reversed their position on the launch, and now they're being pressured to sign their names to that decision. But ultimately, they know they have no choice. After the call ends, Kilminster and Lund stay behind to draft the document recommending that NASA proceed with the Challenger launch as scheduled. And in the end, Kilminster is the one who signs his name to it. By now, it's nearly midnight, and at Cape Canaveral, temperatures are continuing to drop. And on Launchpad 39B, NASA crews are attempting to prepare for the morning's launch in record-breaking cold. But when Charlie Stevenson, leader of the Kennedy Space Center ice team, arrives at the launch pad, he's shocked by what he sees.

• 16:43Lindsay Graham?

  Icicles 18 inches long cover the launch tower. Standing on the top level, at the same height as the Challenger's nose, he has to hold tight to the railing just to prevent himself from slipping on the ice beneath his feet. With the launch still scheduled for 9:30 a.m., only about five hours from now, Stevenson needs to start cleaning the ice from around the shuttle quickly. He steps into an elevator and rides it 20 stories down to the ground level.

• 17:13Lindsay Graham?

  Arriving at the bottom, he's met by one of his ice team colleagues. As they shiver in the cold wind, Stevenson prioritizes what to tackle first. Alright, uh, let's take a look at the sound suppression troughs first. Copy that, and watch your step, boss. I nearly broke my neck between here and the launcher platform. The sound suppression troughs sit below the rocket nozzles, and are filled with water that absorbs the acoustic shock wave of the rockets at liftoff. But when they arrive at the first trough, Stevenson is stunned to discover that the water has a thick sheen of ice on top. Oh man, we could play hockey on this. How is this even possible? Didn't they add the antifreeze? About fourteen hundred gallons worth. Apparently it didn't do the trick. Man, there's no way they're gonna actually launch this thing today, right?

• 17:57Lindsay Graham?

  No, not a chance. I saw nearly two-foot icicles hanging from the top of the gantry. When those things get shaken loose during launch, they're gonna cut through the thermal protection tiles like a knife. Launch control wants us to go through the motion, so we gotta get on with it. Stevenson and his team of technicians begin breaking up the ice and using long-handled nets to skim the chunks out of the troughs. It's exhausting work, made all the more challenging by the frigid cold. When Stevenson can no longer feel his fingers, he stands back to examine their progress. Oh, God. It's looking better. Let's get some temperature readings for the logbook. Stevenson's colleague hands him an infrared thermometer, and Stevenson holds it beneath the exhaust nozzle at the bottom of the left booster.

• 18:42Lindsay Graham?

  Wow, 25 degrees, but I guess that's to be expected. It's about the same as the ambient air temperature. Let's check the other booster. The two men walk gingerly across the icy launch pad to the right booster, careful not to slip. Ah, man. This one is eight degrees, but the boosters are identical. How is this one 17 degrees lower? That can't be right. The thermometer must be malfunctioning. This is getting ridiculous. The launch has to be scrubbed. Meanwhile, we're out here killing time until the bosses wake up and make it official. I guess we gotta take a team up to the top and start clearing off the icicles.

• 19:20Lindsay Graham?

  As his colleague heads toward the elevator, Stevenson looks up the launch tower and beside it the Challenger glittering in the moonlight. From his earlier inspection Stevenson knows that most of what's glittering is ice. Nearly every support beam, walkway and cable is covered in a layer of this stuff. And in all his years at NASA, he's never seen anything like it. Stevenson checks his watch and tries to guess how many more hours it will be until the manager arrives on site and sees how bad the ice is. Because he feels sure that once they do, they'll make the only call they can to cancel the launch.

• 19:59Speaker 03

  There are books that change how you see the world. And there are books that change how you see yourself. In a new podcast series, A Great Book with Barack Obama. President Obama sits down with a series of surprising and sharp guests to explore six books that have shaped his life and perspective on the world. From Song of Solomon and The Fire Next Time, to All the Pretty Horses and Gilead. The president is joined by guests like Tom Hanks and Ta-Nehisi Coates to reflect on how these timeless stories shaped his thinking on everything from fatherhood to leadership. And discover together what they tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create.

• 20:42Speaker 03

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• 20:59Speaker 04

  Alice, have you ever wondered why the Mini is so small?

• 21:02Speaker 05

  The Skir or the Magnum?

• 21:04Speaker 04

  Well, I meant the iconic British car because in 1956, Britain's oil supply was suddenly cut off. Petrol rationing was brought in and the car industry was scrambling around for a vehicle that hardly used any fuel. Enter the Mini.

• 21:19Speaker 05

  Interesting, but actually not technically British scandal series material.

• 21:23Speaker 04

  Well, the reason they had to save petrol is because the Prime Minister started a war and About why.

• 21:29Speaker 05

  OK, scandal siren going off.

• 21:31Speaker 04

  I'm Matt Ford.

• 21:32Speaker 05

  And I'm Alice Levine.

• 21:33Speaker 04

  And our latest British scandal series involves a secret meeting in a French villa, a prime minister running on amphetamines.

• 21:39Speaker 05

  An Egyptian president that everyone fancied, the end of the British Empire, and at the heart of it, a canal.

• 21:46Speaker 04

  This is the story of the Suez Plot.

• 21:49Speaker 05

  Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts, or listen early and ad-free on Audible.

• 22:09Lindsay Graham?

  In the early morning hours of January 28, 1986, many of the people at Cape Canaveral expect the Challenger launch to be cancelled, including the astronauts. But the official call has yet to be made. Some at NASA are especially concerned about the icicle still coating the shuttle's launch tower. They're also worried about the gusty winds blowing offshore, which might make it difficult to retrieve the solid rocket boosters after they fall into the Atlantic. But NASA's rocket booster programme manager, Larry Malloy, expresses no concern. He meets with his boss, Bill Lucas, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre, and shows him Thiacal's official launch recommendation. Malloy explains that while the Thiacal engineers had initially expressed reservations about

• 22:53Lindsay Graham?

  how the O-rings might perform in the cold weather, they ultimately all agreed to go forward. So despite the low temperatures, NASA proceeds with its pre-launch protocol, staying on track for a morning liftoff. And just after 8 a.m., Challenger's commander, Dick Scobie, is joined by the six other astronauts for the elevator ride 20 storeys up to the entrance of the orbiter. As the elevator begins to ascend, Scobie grins with anticipation. When he woke up this morning and saw the weather report, he wondered whether the launch would be postponed. He wasn't happy at the thought of having to spend more time sitting and waiting in the astronauts' pre-launch quarantine. But now it appears today's launch is actually going to happen, and he's excited to get the show on the road.

• 23:37Lindsay Graham?

  Scobie squints in the bright sunshine as he exits the elevator with his crew right behind him. He's greeted by Johnny Corlou, NASA's quality insurance inspector. Scobie gives Corlou a big smile and notes that the skies are crystal clear, a beautiful day to fly. Corlou seems surprised by this comment and remarks on the unusually cold temperature, but Scobie shrugs him off, determined not to let anything dampen his optimism. He's even bought a little gift for Corlou, handing him a bolt with a red ribbon tied around it, a joke referencing the faulty bolt that caused the cancellation of yesterday's launch. Corlou laughs and shakes his head. Then the crew helps Scobie and the other astronauts into their flight harnesses before leading them to the orbiter's entrance hatch.

• 24:22Lindsay Graham?

  Once strapped into their seats inside the orbiter, Scobie takes a moment to check on the other astronauts. As a veteran test pilot and astronaut, he's well accustomed to the jitters that creep in just before a flight. And he's especially mindful of Krista McAuliffe, who's only been with NASA for a few months and will be making her first launch ever today. Scobie looks over his shoulder at her and asks how she's doing. McAuliffe replies that she's ready to launch, but as Scobie looks into her eyes more deeply, he can see she's scared. He tries to reassure her that everyone feels nervous before a launch and that before she knows it, she'll be up there in zero gravity having the time of her life.

• 25:05Lindsay Graham?

  While the seven astronauts inside the Challenger's orbiter move through their pre-launch processes, the temperatures outside remain below freezing. At the last minute, NASA officials decide to push the launch back 30 minutes. Based on the weather forecast, they hope that by then, the temperature will rise above freezing and the tower will have thawed out. In the meantime, NASA's Space Shuttle Program Manager Arnold Aldrich convenes a meeting of more than two dozen senior managers from NASA and their various contractors to discuss the continuation of the launch. They already have a green light from Thiacal, maker of the solid rocket boosters. And in this newest meeting, NASA's own engineers unanimously vote to move forward as soon as the temperature reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 25:50Lindsay Graham?

  But there are dissenting voices from Rockwell, the contractor responsible for manufacturing Challenger's orbiter. The Rockwell engineers tell Aldrich it's not safe to launch, and because these temperature conditions are unprecedented, they cannot be sure how the orbiter will perform.

• 26:07Lindsay Graham?

  But Aldrich brushes Rockwell's concerns aside. If his own engineers are voting to move forward, then that's good enough for him. So after a few more minor delays, the countdown resumes with a new launch time set for 11:38 a.m. Eastern Time. As the astronauts sit and wait strapped inside Challenger's crew cabin, more than 500 observers file into nearby bleachers to watch the launch. They're dressed in hats and gloves, shivering in the cold, but the weather doesn't dampen their excitement. The crowd includes members of the astronauts' extended families, as well as dozens of schoolchildren there to see Christa McAuliffe become the first teacher in space. And around the country, more than 2 million other children are also gathered around TVs

• 26:51Lindsay Graham?

  in their classrooms, watching a live feed provided by NASA, including at Concord High School in New Hampshire, McAuliffe's own students, packed into an auditorium filled with banners and noise makers to celebrate the historic launch. But at Morton Thyacall Headquarters in Utah, the mood is far from celebratory. Around 11:30 a.m., just minutes away from launch, Thyacall engineer Roger Bojolay is sitting in his office, filled with dread. He can see his fellow engineers are beginning to gather in the conference room down the hall to watch the launch, but he can't bear to join them. Over the past year, Bojolay has devoted countless hours to raising the alarm about the O-ring issue.

• 27:31Lindsay Graham?

  Just 12 hours ago, he pleaded with leaders at NASA and Thyacall to postpone the launch, presenting extensive data and even photos of charred O-rings, but it wasn't enough. As the conference room TV blares the final countdown reaching the two-minute mark, Bojolay becomes too nervous to sit still. He stands up from his desk and begins pacing up and down the hallway outside his office. But as he passes the conference room, he sees his fellow engineer Bob Ebling poke his head out. "Hey Roger, they're about to launch. Why don't you come in and join us?" "I can't do that, Bob. I don't have the stomach to watch. Just let me know when it's over." "Come on, buddy. We're all in this together now, and I'm just as nervous as you are. I need you in here."

• 28:15Lindsay Graham?

  Bojolay can see in his colleague's eyes that his words are sincere. He sighs and agrees to join Ebling. But when he enters the conference room, he sees all the chairs are already occupied. "You know, there's nowhere to sit here. I'll just go back to my desk." "No, no, no, there's room for you. Come sit with me and my daughter in front." Ebling leads Bojolay to the front of the room, where he takes a seat on the floor in front of Ebling's legs. Seated next, Ebling is his daughter, also an employee at Diakon. Bojolay looks up at the large projection TV at the front of the room showing the launch. And as the countdown reaches the final 10 seconds, he reaches up and clasps hands with Ebling. On screen, the engines ignite,

• 28:56Lindsay Graham?

  and the Challenger slowly begins to ascend from the launch pad in a plume of white smoke.

• 29:01Speaker 06

  And liftoff. Liftoff, Falcon 25, base of the mission, and it is cleared to tower.

• 29:08Lindsay Graham?

  Hearing the Challenger's engines roar, Bojolay breathes a sigh of relief. We just dodged a bullet bomb. Boosters made it through liftoff. Well, we're not done quite yet. Now seven seconds into the flight, Bojolay watches Challenger begin to turn over the ocean as it angles toward orbit.

• 29:26Speaker 06

  Good roll program confirmed. Challenger now heading down range. Three engines are running normally.

• 29:33Lindsay Graham?

  As the seconds tick by, Bojolay feels himself relaxed. But then, about a minute after launch, a flash of bright light envelops the shuttle. From a cloud of smoke and flame, two white contrails emerge, flying in different directions. What happened? I don't know, I don't know. I think those contrails are the boosters. They separated. But where's the orbiter?

• 29:58Lindsay Graham?

  Bojolay watches, dumbstruck, as his worst fears have just been realized. The space shuttle Challenger has exploded. Bojolay releases Ebling's hand, gets up off the floor and walks out of the room. He makes his way back toward his office, wiping tears from his eyes. It's too early to say what exactly caused this disaster, but he feels certain that his company's boosters were involved. And if he's right, he is determined to tell the world that this horrible tragedy could have been prevented.

• 30:30Speaker 07

  Journalist Tristan Redman goes where no son-in-law should ever go. Deep into his wife's family history, digging up the cold case of who murdered her great-grandmother. Because, I should mention, he thinks the murderer might actually be the beloved family patriarch. For the best binge-watch series like Ghost Story, listen to the Audible True Crime Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

• 30:50Speaker 02

  I'm Gemma Whelan, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we tell the story of the original femme fatale, The Spy Who Was Mata Hari. A famous dancer turned World War I secret agent, accused of seducing Allied officers to uncover their plans. But was she a temptress or a scapegoat for French failures? Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Was Mata Hari, early and ad-free on Audible.

• 31:31Lindsay Graham?

  At 11:39 a.m. Eastern Time on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger disappears in an apparent explosion. At Mission Control in Houston, Texas, NASA officials and engineers sit in stunned silence. They assume the worst for all astronauts onboard, so they immediately pivot to their contingency plans for the search and recovery of the remains of the shuttle, which are still tumbling down into the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, at Cape Canaveral, a voice over the loudspeaker tells the crowd of onlookers that the vehicle has exploded. The spectators grow quiet, and then many begin to cry. But on the rooftop of NASA's Launch Control Building, some of the astronauts' immediate

• 32:14Lindsay Graham?

  family members continue to hope for the best. Among them are Commander Dick Scobie's wife, June, along with her adult son and daughter. Krista McAuliffe's husband Steve looks to June for answers, but she knows as little as anyone else. Staring out at the trails of white smoke over the ocean, June knows it doesn't look good. But she also knows that the astronauts are trained for emergencies just like this. If the orbiter somehow survived the explosion, she believes her husband can land it. Soon, the families are loaded onto a bus and taken to a small dormitory building where the astronauts are housed before each mission. And in the building's modest lobby, June huddles with a few dozen of the astronauts' spouses,

• 32:55Lindsay Graham?

  children, and parents, holding each other tightly as some of the children begin to cry. The building is nearly empty of any NASA employees. But soon, several astronauts who weren't on the flight begin streaming in to provide comfort. They rush to turn off the TVs, which are now wall-to-wall with coverage of the disaster. And they offer families food, drink, and even sedatives. June declines their offers, telling them she just wants to know what happened. And finally, an hour after the explosion, NASA's Director of Flight Operations George Abbey walks solemnly through the building's glass doors. He asks the adults to accompany him into a conference room, and suggests that the children

• 33:34Lindsay Graham?

  should stay in the lobby where the other astronauts can look after them. Abbey leads the group into a cramped conference room and then closes the door. Alright, everyone, we don't know all the details, but obviously, there's been an explosion. June Scooby presses him for more. "We know that, we all saw it happen. What about the orbiter? Did they bring it down safely?" "I'm sorry, I don't believe there's any hope for the crew." "But how do you know? Did you recover the orbiter? Did you open it up? Look inside?" "No, it will be some time before it's recovered. But, but look, June, no one could survive that, not even Dick. I'm so sorry." "So who's gonna tell the children out there? That their parents are coming home? I think it would be best if you all handled that."

• 34:22Lindsay Graham?

  June walks in a daze back to the lobby, where the astronauts' spouses begin breaking the news to their children. She sees the teenage daughter of Challenger pilot Mike Smith begin to hyperventilate as a NASA crew member helps the girl breathe into a paper bag. But June doesn't linger. Instead, she finds herself wandering toward her husband's room down the hall. There inside, June sees her husband's clothing, still hanging in the closet. She wraps her arms around some of his shirts, squeezing them tightly, desperate to feel close to him somehow. And on the desk, she finds Dick's brown leather briefcase. Opening it, she thumbs through the maps, flight manuals, and NASA pins he had collected as souvenirs from the mission. And at the bottom of the case,

• 35:06Lindsay Graham?

  she finds a Valentine's Day card addressed to her. He must have planned to give it to her when he returned home. Overcome with emotion, she sits on the bed, puts her head in her hands, and finally allows herself to cry.

• 35:22Lindsay Graham?

  As the families of the astronauts begin to mourn their losses, the NASA engineers inside Houston Mission Control prepare for the inevitable post-disaster investigation. Within only minutes of the explosion, they are told to lock their monitors in place to preserve data. Then the office doors are locked, and they are warned not to leave the room for any reason, even to use the bathroom. They are also instructed not to make any outgoing phone calls and forbidden from communicating with anyone, especially the press, about what has happened. President Ronald Reagan's State of the Union address had been scheduled for that night, but now, the White House announces that the speech will be rescheduled for the following week. And as word of the tragedy spreads around the country,

• 36:05Lindsay Graham?

  people flock to their TVs desperate for any insight. But NASA stays tight-lipped, refusing to talk to the press and even seizing photos of the launch taken by reporters. News anchors like Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings are only left to speculate about the cause of the disaster on air as they roll footage of the explosion in a continuous loop. Finally, around 4:30 PM, nearly five hours after the launch, NASA calls a press conference at Cape Canaveral. By this time, the number of reporters on site has grown to more than 300, forcing NASA to hold the event outdoors. Jesse Moore, the head of the agency shuttle program, reads a brief statement, then takes questions. But his answers come off as evasive.

• 36:49Lindsay Graham?

  Moore refuses to speculate on the causes of the explosion, insisting that the unusually cold weather that morning did not play a role in the disaster, and that the previous delays created no additional pressure to launch. He assures the public that, to his knowledge, everyone involved was unanimous in their insistence that the Challenger was ready to fly. But in Utah, at Morton Thiacall headquarters, engineer Roger Bojolay knows better. And as he watches the press conference from his office, he grows increasingly suspicious about what he's hearing from NASA. It's even beginning to smell like a cover-up. The following morning, when Bojolay returns to work, he's surprised to see that it's back to business as usual. All around him, technicians continue their work as if nothing had happened.

• 37:34Lindsay Graham?

  Bojolay figures he might as well follow suit and distract himself from his grief. So he heads to his office and begins gathering folders full of data on the booster's O-rings, the component he suspects caused the explosion. But as he opens the files on his desk, there's a knock on the door. It's a company secretary delivering a memo from management. The letter instructs Thiacall engineers to hand over any relevant documentation they have about Challenger's launch as they await the coming investigation. Bojolay nods at the secretary and tells her he'll deliver the documents by the end of the day, but he has no intention of following through on that promise. Already suspicious of NASA, Bojolay now begins to worry that his own company is preparing a cover-up of their own. So Bojolay begins going through his files

• 38:19Lindsay Graham?

  and pulling anything related to the launch he can find. Soon, he has a small pile of documents on his desk, and in the stack are slides from his presentation to NASA the night before the launch, notebooks full of data on the booster's performance over time, and a series of memos he had written to his bosses warning of the dangers posed by faulty O-rings. There's even one memo he sent to Thiacall's head of engineering six months ago, warning about a possible loss of human life.

• 38:47Lindsay Graham?

  As he looks at the pile, Beaujolais knows it would be suspicious not to turn anything in, so he takes a moment to consider what's the least valuable. He settles on the presentation slides, puts those into a manila folder to be handed over to management. He puts the rest of the papers in his desk drawer and locks it. Then, before he heads upstairs to hand in the manila folder, he jiggles the drawer, making sure it's locked tight, because he knows what's inside could be important in the coming months, and that there are powerful people who would rather it never see the light of day. From Wondery, this is episode three of The Challenger Disaster from American Scandal. In our next episode, an independent commission looks into the causes of the tragedy, when

• 39:32Lindsay Graham?

  executives at NASA and Thiacol try to conceal what really happened, engineers step forward to blow the whistle. American Scandal is only possible because of listeners like you, so thank you. And don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American Scandal on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. And Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com.

• 40:16Lindsay Graham?

  That's historyishuman.com. If you'd like to learn more about The Challenger Disaster, we recommend the books Challenger by Adam Higginbotham, The Burning Blue by Kevin Cook, and the Netflix docu-series Challenger: The Final Flight. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Christian Paraga, sound design by Gabriel Ghul, music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written by Corey Metcalf, edited by Emma Courtland, fact checking by Alyssa Jung Perry, produced by John Reed, managing producer Joe Florentino, senior

• 41:00Lindsay Graham?

  producers Andy Beckerman and Andy Herman, development by Stephanie Jens. Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marsha Louis, and Erin O'Flaherty for Wondery.

• 41:18Speaker 04

  You stepped out for your morning jog. Except it's not your usual morning jog. You started listening to an epic sci-fi book on Audible. Thirty chapters later, you've accidentally run a half marathon. You've lost track of how far you've run, somewhere just past the city limits. You can't stop, you have to find out what happens next. Then it's over. The universe seems bigger. You feel different. You feel... Like you have no idea where you are. Audible: Stories That Speak to You.