The Challenger workbook plots every Space Shuttle flight from STS-1 to STS-51-L by its solid-rocket-motor joint temperature against the number of O-ring erosion incidents observed afterwards. The mission patches are the data points. Where the original author highlighted source passages from the Rogers Commission report and House Report 99-1016, those clippings appear directly in the timeline below.
Each patch lands at the joint temperature recorded for its launch (x-axis) and the count of O-ring erosion incidents found in the post-flight inspection (y-axis). The 31°F mark is where Challenger’s field joints sat the morning of January 28, 1986.
Each patch lands at the joint temperature recorded for its launch (x-axis) and the count of O-ring erosion incidents found in the post-flight inspection (y-axis). The 31°F mark is where Challenger’s field joints sat the morning of January 28, 1986.
From the 1973 contract decision through the engineers’ final warnings, a slow-scrolling record of design choices, observed anomalies, and the launches that should have been a warning.