This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/space by /u/niton on 2025-01-29 01:08:05+00:00.

I’ve been a space shuttle nerd for decades and spend my time watching the youtube montages of shuttle launches. This year I took a deep dive into several pieces of Challenger-related media. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned about how a cascade of bad decisions can lead to a disaster and the weaknesses of the Shuttle program.

I wanted to share the essential list I recommend going through if you want to learn more about the crew, accident and the NASA mismanagement that led to it:

• Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space - The final word on Challenger. If you read just one book about Challenger, make it this one. It’s meticulously researched and written as a very compelling narrative. Also a great place to start if you plan to consume the other media.
• Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster - An insider’s account written by the Morton Thiokol whistleblower (Allan McDonald) who refused to sign off on the launch or cover up what came next. The book goes into great detail about the meetings between NASA and Thiokol and also into the accident inquiry hearings. The detail can get excessive at times but you can’t get this view of the cover-up and political machinations anywhere else.
• What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Richard Feynman’s book; A significant portion is spent on his experience as a member of the Rogers Commission. Good detail on how Feynman came up with the o-ring stunt that blew up the NASA cover-up. Note that Feynman is an unreliable narrator and has a mixed reputation of late.
• Challenger - Final Flight (Netflix) - If time / attention span are limited, this is the one item to consume. A four-part series that’s well researched and includes chilling interviews with the key Thiokol and NASA people including a couple who’s mismanagement was singled out for blame in the accident. It’s hard not to cry in the episode where they cover the immediate aftermath of the accident and you hear from the crew’s family. Oddly, this show completely ignores Roger Boisjoly who was an incredibly important Thiokol whistleblower (alongside Allan McDonald). The intro still gives me goosebumps when I watch it.
• The Challenger Disaster (2013 movie) - A highly dramatized version of Feynman’s account in his book. For those looking for the Hollywood treatment of the post-accident investigation. There is a 2019 movie with the same name - ignore it. Even the 2013 movie is skippable if I’m honest but the performances in it are good.