Thread: Engineer who tried to prevent the 1986 Challenger launch carried 30 years of guilt

"It's going to blow up," a distraught and defeated Ebeling told his wife, Darlene, when he arrived home that night.

And it did, 73 seconds after liftoff. Seven astronauts died. Cold weather and an O-ring failure were blamed, and Ebeling carried three decades of guilt.

"That was one of the mistakes God made," Ebeling, now 89, told me three weeks ago at his home in Brigham City, Utah. "He shouldn't have picked me for that job. But next time I talk to him, I'm gonna ask him, 'Why me? You picked a loser.' "

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...years-of-guilt

He warned them but the NASA officials over ruled him. A bit like crazy generals sending young soldiers to the slaughter without weighing up all the evidence

Poor Mr. Ebeling, he owned a lot of guilt that did not belong to him. The people who were actually responsible likely haven't lost as much sleep.

It was a terrible tragedy but it wasn't his fault, he reported it, he did everything he could:

Like many engineers who responded to Ebeling's story, Sides knows what it's like to present data and face resistance. He's also certain about who bears responsibility for the decisions that result.

"He and his colleagues stated it very plainly. It was a dangerous day for the launch," Sides says. "But [Ebeling] was not the decision-maker. He did his job as an engineer. He should not have to carry any guilt..."