Roger Boisjoly, the space shuttle Challenger, and what a REAL president sounds like

A sad story caught my attention this morning as I was perusing the day’s headlines.  Roger Boisjoly, an engineer at Morton Thiokol Inc. who was involved in the space shuttle project, recently passed away.  Many are not aware of his story, but Mr. Boisjoly was one of a handful of engineers who tried in vain stop the launch of the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger on January 28th, 1986.  We’re now a few days past the 26-year anniversary of this tragedy, but Boisjoly’s story is one that should not be forgotten.

For nearly two years prior the accident, Boisjoly vocally raised the issue of the space shuttle’s solid rocket boosters (SRBs) as not being safe at low temperatures.  As you may recall, it was low temperatures at launch that lead to the failure of an O-ring in one of the SRBs, that ultimately claimed the lives of the 7 astronauts and the space shuttle itself.  In the 24 hours preceding the launch, Boisjoly fought tirelessly with his management at Morton Thiokol, as well as NASA itself to delay the flight.  Boisjoly and a small handful of engineers were motivated by data from previous shuttle launches that showed how the O-ring sealed-joints degraded in low temperatures and could fail, causing an explosion.  Unfortunately, Boisjoly and the others were overruled by Morton Thiokol’s management, who gave a unanimous “yes vote” to launch on a Go/No-Go call the night before the doomed mission.   The morning of the launch, Boisjoly was in his office watching.   As T-0 passed, Boisjoly felt a measure of relief, as the shuttle’s main engines and SRBs fired, and the craft climbed skyward.  His data had told him that the O-rings would fail immediately upon engine ignition, and when they didn’t, he had hoped that they might be okay after all.  That relief, however, was short-lived, as 73 seconds later, his worst nightmare came true.

The story here is not how Boisjoly was proven right, but how he  fared in the aftermath.

Things moved quickly after the disaster, as he was involved in the investigation to determine it’s cause.  In the weeks and months that followed, Boisjoly and his colleagues bravely delivered damning testimony to the presidential commissions probing the disaster.  Until this point, neither NASA or Morton Thiokol had given any indication that there was passionate debate about the safety of a low-temperature launch.  Supported by documentation and memos warning of these problems dating back to early 1985, Boisjoly and his colleagues exposed the poisoned culture and cavalier attitude toward safety held by NASA and Morton Thiokol at the time.  Officially, the commission labelled Boisjoly’s testimony as courageous.  And that was as good as it would get.

Back at work at Morton Thiokol, Boisjoly’s job had begun to change.  He was reassigned from his previous role and was no longer involved with NASA.  Viewed as a troublemaker for speaking the truth, he was passed over promotion, with those  who “kept quiet” during the investigation being rewarded.  He became increasingly isolated by both his peers and managers, with his wife even being accosted by the spouse of one co-worker.

The personal toll was even higher.  According to his family, the disaster transformed Boisjoly into an angry man, raging at everyone, especially those closest to him, for even the most minute of perceived offenses.  Physically, he had gained 40 lbs in the months after the accident, and had begun to experience chest pains, numbness in his arm, and double-vision.  When he finally sought treatment and counseling, the doctor put him on what was supposed to be a 2-month medical leave.  Six months later, it became permanent.  Unable to find work in the space industry, he believed that NASA had blackballed him, making him unemployable in the field.  He would spend the better part of the next two decades almost completely divorced from the profession which he had made his life’s work.

Betrayed by his company and  NASA for doing the right thing, we can only hope that Roger Boisjoly has finally found peace.  It’s sad when a man of this caliber passes, as the world can certainly use more men of conscience like him.

He was 73.

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In researching this article, I was reminded of the speech given by President Reagan on the night of the shuttle disaster.  My own recollection of that speech centers around my 10th grade chemistry class, in which our teacher had setup a TV so we could monitor the events of that day.  I can’t say I remember much, other than I was moved, even as a 15 year-old.

In the years since, I’ve read the speech a handful of times, but had not seen it again until I found it on Youtube early this morning.  I was nearly moved to tears by the sincerity, understanding, and leadership showed by our president on that fateful day:

Hearing his words again reminds me that it takes more than just soaring rhetoric to lift a nation.  Anyone can give a speech, but articulating the true meaning of American greatness is an art form that has been sadly lost since January 20th, 1989.

Perhaps we will again someday elect a leader who encourages us to believe in ourselves, instead of himself or the government.

Material for this article was sourced from the following:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-roger-boisjoly-20120207,0,2248999.story

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-28/news/mn-1361_1_engineers