Aerospace industry

Challenger shuttle whistleblower reflects on struggle with PTSD

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Roger Boisjoly
Roger Boisjoly

The following is a letter from Roger Boisjoly to a friend, in which he reminisces about his life since blowing the whistle on the Challenger Shuttle disaster, and his struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Boisjoly was one of three engineers who, the day before the il-fated January 1986 mission, strenuously objected to the launch, predicting correctly that the O-rings in the solid rocket boosters would fail in the very low temperatures forecast for that day. Their subsequent mistreatment by their employer – and public outrage at this – led to demands for whistleblower protection in the USA.

Challenger: The Untold Story

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The story of how engineers working for a NASA subcontractor tried desperately to prevent the ill-fated final launch of the Challenger shuttle. The engineers believed that rubber o-rings, critical components of the solid-fuel booster rockets, would likely fail at the very low temperatures forecast for the launch. However, management overruled them and the fatal launch went ahead. A Congressional enquiry later exposed the truth, assisted by one of its members, a Nobel prize-winning scientist.

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