Official Source: NASA Thiokol Solid Rocket Boosters

Summary

NASA's hosted Rogers Commission report is the official investigation record for the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. For the Utah work page, its main value is not a full Thiokol company history but a primary official record of the solid rocket booster field-joint failure, Morton Thiokol's role, and the launch-decision failure that followed.

Useful Claims

• The Challenger accident was traced to failure of O-ring seals in the aft field joint of the right solid rocket booster.
• The report treats the failure as both a technical flaw and an organizational failure involving NASA and Morton Thiokol.
• The commission reviewed the prelaunch decision process in which Thiokol engineers raised concerns about low-temperature launch conditions.
• The report is central evidence for why any account of Utah-built shuttle boosters must include Challenger, engineering ethics, and management communication.
• It supports the narrower claim that Morton Thiokol was the relevant shuttle solid rocket motor contractor in the Challenger-era booster system.

Reliability Notes

This is an official investigation report and strong evidence for Challenger-specific findings. It is not the best single source for Promontory plant history, Shuttle booster manufacturing logistics, or the full Thiokol/ATK/Northrop corporate lineage; those still need a separate official company or NASA program source.

Related Pages

• Thiokol Solid Rocket Motors