Gather information on the following two disasters: Space shuttle \"Challenger\", Jan 1986. Space shuttle \"Columbia\", Jan 2003. Describe (may still be speculative for Columbia) what (materials & design as well as political/management factors) caused the disasters. Solution Cause of Space shuttle Challenger disaster, Jan 1986: It was determined that the two rubber O-rings, which had been designed to separate the sections of the rocket booster, had failed due to cold temperatures on the morning of the launch. This seal, called an O-ring, on the shuttle\'s right solid rocket booster had failed at liftoff, allowing pressurized hot gas to escape from inside the booster. This vaporized material impinged on the strut connecting the solid rocket booster to the shuttle\'s huge orange external tank, causing both pieces of hardware to break down. About 72 seconds into Challenger\'s flight, there was a massive, almost explosive, burning of the hydrogen that was streaming from the failed tank bottom, combined with liquid oxygen leaking from a part of the fuel tank known as the intertank which eventually lead to the biggest disaster in the history. Cause of Space shuttle Columbia disaster, Jan 2003: This space shuttle Columbia broke apart returning to earth killing all the seven crew members on the board. An investigation determined that the disaster was caused by a problem that took place shortly while a large piece of foam fell from the shuttle’s propellant tank and fatally damaged the edge of the shuttle’s left wing.They lost temperature readings from sensors located on the left wing. Then, tire pressure readings from the left side also vanished. It was later found that a hole on the left wing allowed atmospheric gases to bleed into the shuttle as it went through its fiery re-entry, leading to the loss of the sensors and eventually, Columbia itself.This Columbia disaster was the second major tragedy in the history of the space shuttle program after the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch on January 28, 1986..

1. Gather information on the following two disasters: Space shuttle "Challenger", Jan 1986.
Space shuttle "Columbia", Jan 2003. Describe (may still be speculative for Columbia) what
(materials & design as well as political/management factors) caused the disasters.
Solution
Cause of Space shuttle Challenger disaster, Jan 1986:
It was determined that the two rubber O-rings, which had been designed to separate the sections
of the rocket booster, had failed due to cold temperatures on the morning of the launch. This seal,
called an O-ring, on the shuttle's right solid rocket booster had failed at liftoff, allowing
pressurized hot gas to escape from inside the booster. This vaporized material impinged on the
strut connecting the solid rocket booster to the shuttle's huge orange external tank, causing both
pieces of hardware to break down.
About 72 seconds into Challenger's flight, there was a massive, almost explosive, burning of the
hydrogen that was streaming from the failed tank bottom, combined with liquid oxygen leaking
from a part of the fuel tank known as the intertank which eventually lead to the biggest disaster
in the history.
Cause of Space shuttle Columbia disaster, Jan 2003:
This space shuttle Columbia broke apart returning to earth killing all the seven crew members on
the board. An investigation determined that the disaster was caused by a problem that took place
shortly while a large piece of foam fell from the shuttle’s propellant tank and fatally damaged the
edge of the shuttle’s left wing.They lost temperature readings from sensors located on the left
wing. Then, tire pressure readings from the left side also vanished. It was later found that a hole
on the left wing allowed atmospheric gases to bleed into the shuttle as it went through its fiery
re-entry, leading to the loss of the sensors and eventually, Columbia itself.This Columbia disaster
was the second major tragedy in the history of the space shuttle program after the space shuttle
Challenger broke apart shortly after launch on January 28, 1986.