Morton Thiokol Rocket Testing Facility, Promontory, Utah, August 1994

At this facility the space shuttle's booster rockets were tested. The elastic O-rings in the booster rockets
were found to malfunction in cold conditions.

Unusually low temperatures were predicted for the launch of the space shuttle Challenger at Cape
Kennedy on January 28, 1986. NASA and Morton Thiokol managers, under pressure to perform on
schedule, approved the Challenger's launch. Seven astronauts, including the first civilian crew member,
high school teacher Christa McAuliffe, died when the main booster rocket exploded.