Roger Boisjoly

Roger Boisjoly was an engineer at Morton Thiokol, the contractor responsible for the solid rocket boosters used in NASA's Space Shuttle program. He gained notoriety for his role in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, when he warned NASA officials about the potential failure of the O-rings in cold temperatures just before the shuttle's launch. Despite his warnings, the launch proceeded, resulting in the catastrophic explosion of the Challenger just 73 seconds after liftoff, leading to the deaths of all seven crew members. Boisjoly's insights into the engineering failures and management decisions that contributed to the disaster have had lasting implications for safety protocols in aerospace engineering.