At 09:53 AM 1/19/01 +0000, Alan B. Pearce wrote:
> >Too bad NASA didn't know this when they launched Challenger :-(
>
>I got the impression they did, but over rode the "don't launch" recommendation
>from the manufacturers engineers, or maybe it was the manufacturers management
>that over rode the engineers and signed it off.


The shuttle engines are ammonium perchlorate, aluminum, and a binder, which
is what the Aerotech reloads are made from.  Not black powder. The failure
was due to a rubber O-Ring that lost it's flexibility in the low temperatures.

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