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January 1986, when the space shuttle Challenger blew up, shortly after takeoff. The o-rings had frozen solid during the night, and when the rocket ship went up into space, hot gases from the launch boosters heated up the fuel tank and caused it to blow up like a bomb. Many engineers were worried that the icing conditions on the launch pad would cause the o-rings to freeze up, however, their warnings were ignored by NASA. It is not clear if the crew were killed instantly when the shuttle blew up, or if they died when the space capsule, hit the water after the explosion.

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13y ago

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