Science 30 Years After Explosion, Challenger Engineer Still Blames Himself - Page 4

listopencil · 01-28-2016, 07:02 PM

Thirty years ago, as the nation mourned the loss of seven astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger, Bob Ebeling was steeped in his own deep grief. The night before the launch, Ebeling and four other engineers at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol had tried to stop the launch. Their managers and NASA overruled them. That night, he told his wife, Darlene, "It's going to blow up." When Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, Ebeling and his colleagues sat stunned in a conference room at Thiokol's headquarters outside Brigham City, Utah. They watched the spacecraft explode on a giant television screen and they knew exactly what had happened.

Three weeks later, Ebeling and another engineer separately and anonymously detailed to NPR the first account of that contentious pre-launch meeting. Both were despondent and in tears as they described hours of data review and arguments. The data showed that the rubber seals on the shuttle's booster rockets wouldn't seal properly in cold temperatures and this would be the coldest launch ever. Ebeling, now 89, decided to let NPR identify him this time, on the 30th anniversary of the Challenger explosion. "I was one of the few that was really close to the situation," Ebeling recalls. "Had they listened to me and wait[ed] for a weather change, it might have been a completely different outcome." We spoke in the same house, kitchen and living room that we spoke in 30 years ago, when Ebeling didn't want his name used or his voice recorded. He was afraid he would lose his job.

"I think the truth has to come out," he says about the decision to speak privately then. "NASA ruled the launch," he explains. "They had their mind set on going up and proving to the world they were right and they knew what they were doing. But they didn't." A presidential commission found flaws in the space agency's decision-making process. But it's still not clear why NASA was so anxious to launch without delay. The space shuttle program had an ambitious launch schedule that year and NASA wanted to show it could launch regularly and reliably. President Ronald Reagan was also set to deliver the State of the Union address that evening and reportedly planned to tout the Challenger launch. Whatever the reason, Ebeling says it didn't justify the risk. "There was more than enough [NASA officials and Thiokol managers] there to say, 'Hey, let's give it another day or two,' " Ebeling recalls. "But no one did."

Ebeling retired soon after Challenger. He suffered deep depression and has never been able to lift the burden of guilt. In 1986, as he watched that haunting image again on a television screen, he said, "I could have done more. I should have done more." He says the same thing today, sitting in a big easy chair in the same living room, his eyes watery and his face grave. The data he and his fellow engineers presented, and their persistent and sometimes angry arguments, weren't enough to sway Thiokol managers and NASA officials. Ebeling concludes he was inadequate. He didn't argue the data well enough. A religious man, this is something he has prayed about for the past 30 years. "I think that was one of the mistakes that God made," Ebeling says softly. "He shouldn't have picked me for the job. But next time I talk to him, I'm gonna ask him, 'Why me? You picked a loser.' "

I reminded him of something his late colleague and friend Roger Boisjoly once told me. Boisjoly was the other Thiokol engineer who spoke anonymously with NPR 30 years ago. He came to believe that he and Ebeling and their colleagues did all they could. "We were talking to the right people," Boisjoly told me. "We were talking to the people who had the power to stop that launch." "Maybe," Ebeling says with a weak wave as I leave. "Maybe Roger's right."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...blames-himself

seclark · 01-29-2016, 08:59 AM

was 25 and sitting at my desk at work, listening to the radio.
doesn't seem like 30 years.
sec

Hydrae · 01-29-2016, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kman34

I was 22...Seems like a lifetime ago. I remember cheering for the first launch after the tragedy...

This (well, I was 25). I thought for sure the space program was done when this happened. What a (greater) tragedy that would have been.

I had the same fears when Columbia broke up over Texas. Space is our future and unfortunately there will be deaths and accidents along the way. While we can mourn the losses and honor those sacrifices we still need to forge ahead. I am sure every one of the people on board both those shuttles would agree with this.

**Lzen** · 01-29-2016, 09:19 AM

I was in 8th grade at home sick with the flu (and I believe my mom and siblings were, as well) watching that horror over and over on tv all day.

ct · 01-29-2016, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lzen

I was in 8th grade at home sick with the flu (and I believe my mom and siblings were, as well) watching that horror over and over on tv all day.

freshman, also home "sick", except i wasn't, wanted to watch the launch live at home. wish i'd gone to school.

listopencil · 01-29-2016, 10:38 AM

I was deployed. I think I was either in the Med or the IO. We shrugged it off and made some gallows humor jokes about it. I had never heard about this guy before I read the article, but I do remember (I think) hearing about seals failing because of the temperature at launch. I feel badly for this guy. It sounds like he is going to take this to his grave.

Garcia Bronco · 01-29-2016, 11:20 AM

I was playing hooky at home in 6th grade and I called my mom's work to tell her and her co-workers didn't believe me. Sad day. Bless those brave souls

Demonpenz · 01-29-2016, 11:37 AM

Obviously a major malfunction. Obviously

Earthling · 01-29-2016, 01:20 PM

Damn I was 36 or so back then. This engineer shouldn't feel responsible. It seems like he did his job and advised the people he was supposed to not to launch. Still makes me sad.

Why Not? · 01-29-2016, 02:03 PM

I was 10. It was probably the worst memory of my childhood. If you'll recall, Ellison Onizuka was from Hawaii so it rocked the whole state in a bad way.

eDave · 01-29-2016, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lex Luthor

I still remember the news reports of Christa McAullife's last words to her husband. She said "You feed the dogs, I'll feed the fish".

Heh.

PunkinDrublic · 01-29-2016, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lex Luthor

I still remember the news reports of Christa McAullife's last words to her husband. She said "You feed the dogs, I'll feed the fish".

Challenger jokes were so huge. I'm surprised someone didn't tell one to this guy and had no idea who he was.

Bweb · 01-29-2016, 03:06 PM

I was a Soph in HS....watched it live on TV in science class.

Chief Pagan · 01-29-2016, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

god you all are young.

HS Junior.

I teach with a first year teacher, she was born in 1992. I started teaching in 1992.
my god.

You too are young. I was in college at the time.

**kysirsoze** · 01-29-2016, 05:25 PM

Quote:

"I think that was one of the mistakes that God made," Ebeling says softly. "He shouldn't have picked me for the job. But next time I talk to him, I'm gonna ask him, 'Why me? You picked a loser.' "

Damn.

beach tribe · 01-29-2016, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I was a senior in my last semester of aerospace engineering, a teaching assistant in orbital mechanics, and wanting to work at NASA. They didn't hire for a long time after that, so I instead had to pursue my next dream of becoming a famous writer. I had to abandon a lot of dreams in that era.

Is this true??

That's impressive.

01-28-2016, 07:02 PM
listopencil Immanentize The Eschaton Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In Partibus Infidelium Casino cash: $2255880	30 Years After Explosion, Challenger Engineer Still Blames Himself Thirty years ago, as the nation mourned the loss of seven astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger, Bob Ebeling was steeped in his own deep grief. The night before the launch, Ebeling and four other engineers at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol had tried to stop the launch. Their managers and NASA overruled them. That night, he told his wife, Darlene, "It's going to blow up." When Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, Ebeling and his colleagues sat stunned in a conference room at Thiokol's headquarters outside Brigham City, Utah. They watched the spacecraft explode on a giant television screen and they knew exactly what had happened. Three weeks later, Ebeling and another engineer separately and anonymously detailed to NPR the first account of that contentious pre-launch meeting. Both were despondent and in tears as they described hours of data review and arguments. The data showed that the rubber seals on the shuttle's booster rockets wouldn't seal properly in cold temperatures and this would be the coldest launch ever. Ebeling, now 89, decided to let NPR identify him this time, on the 30th anniversary of the Challenger explosion. "I was one of the few that was really close to the situation," Ebeling recalls. "Had they listened to me and wait[ed] for a weather change, it might have been a completely different outcome." We spoke in the same house, kitchen and living room that we spoke in 30 years ago, when Ebeling didn't want his name used or his voice recorded. He was afraid he would lose his job. "I think the truth has to come out," he says about the decision to speak privately then. "NASA ruled the launch," he explains. "They had their mind set on going up and proving to the world they were right and they knew what they were doing. But they didn't." A presidential commission found flaws in the space agency's decision-making process. But it's still not clear why NASA was so anxious to launch without delay. The space shuttle program had an ambitious launch schedule that year and NASA wanted to show it could launch regularly and reliably. President Ronald Reagan was also set to deliver the State of the Union address that evening and reportedly planned to tout the Challenger launch. Whatever the reason, Ebeling says it didn't justify the risk. "There was more than enough [NASA officials and Thiokol managers] there to say, 'Hey, let's give it another day or two,' " Ebeling recalls. "But no one did." Ebeling retired soon after Challenger. He suffered deep depression and has never been able to lift the burden of guilt. In 1986, as he watched that haunting image again on a television screen, he said, "I could have done more. I should have done more." He says the same thing today, sitting in a big easy chair in the same living room, his eyes watery and his face grave. The data he and his fellow engineers presented, and their persistent and sometimes angry arguments, weren't enough to sway Thiokol managers and NASA officials. Ebeling concludes he was inadequate. He didn't argue the data well enough. A religious man, this is something he has prayed about for the past 30 years. "I think that was one of the mistakes that God made," Ebeling says softly. "He shouldn't have picked me for the job. But next time I talk to him, I'm gonna ask him, 'Why me? You picked a loser.' " I reminded him of something his late colleague and friend Roger Boisjoly once told me. Boisjoly was the other Thiokol engineer who spoke anonymously with NPR 30 years ago. He came to believe that he and Ebeling and their colleagues did all they could. "We were talking to the right people," Boisjoly told me. "We were talking to the people who had the power to stop that launch." "Maybe," Ebeling says with a weak wave as I leave. "Maybe Roger's right." http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...blames-himself
Posts: 55,922

01-29-2016, 08:59 AM	#46
seclark MVP Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: nemo Casino cash: $1719900	was 25 and sitting at my desk at work, listening to the radio. doesn't seem like 30 years. sec __________________ "Mr. seclark. Wrong for gravy, wrong for jelly, wrong for biscuits." -rj "If every Planeteer who was disliked by another Planeteer stopped being a Planeteer we wouldn't have any Planeteers." -rj
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01-29-2016, 09:19 AM	#48
Lzen Supporter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Jan Quadrant Vincent 16 Casino cash: $2250692	I was in 8th grade at home sick with the flu (and I believe my mom and siblings were, as well) watching that horror over and over on tv all day. __________________ If at first you don't succeed ...skydiving is not for you.
Posts: 41,318

01-29-2016, 10:38 AM	#50
listopencil Immanentize The Eschaton Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In Partibus Infidelium Casino cash: $2255880	I was deployed. I think I was either in the Med or the IO. We shrugged it off and made some gallows humor jokes about it. I had never heard about this guy before I read the article, but I do remember (I think) hearing about seals failing because of the temperature at launch. I feel badly for this guy. It sounds like he is going to take this to his grave. __________________ Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has...it has stolen.
Posts: 55,922

01-29-2016, 11:20 AM	#51
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $5313136	I was playing hooky at home in 6th grade and I called my mom's work to tell her and her co-workers didn't believe me. Sad day. Bless those brave souls
Posts: 30,835

01-29-2016, 11:37 AM	#52
Demonpenz I got Rice cookin in the micro Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $3152136	Obviously a major malfunction. Obviously __________________
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01-29-2016, 01:20 PM	#53
Earthling MVP Join Date: Apr 2001 Casino cash: $10008447	Damn I was 36 or so back then. This engineer shouldn't feel responsible. It seems like he did his job and advised the people he was supposed to not to launch. Still makes me sad. __________________ AND SOMETIMES IT'S NOT SO EASY ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR ONLY FRIEND TALKS SEES LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE YOU AND YOU DO JUST THE SAME AS HIM -Jiimi Hendrix
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01-29-2016, 02:03 PM	#54
Why Not? In Search of a Life Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Kansas Casino cash: $3188994	I was 10. It was probably the worst memory of my childhood. If you'll recall, Ellison Onizuka was from Hawaii so it rocked the whole state in a bad way.
Posts: 21,683

01-29-2016, 03:06 PM	#57
Bweb Dyin ain't much of a livin.. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Red Dirt Casino cash: $9744755	I was a Soph in HS....watched it live on TV in science class.
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