Although NASA had flown 24 successful shuttle missions before STS 51-L (the official name for the 1/28/86 Challenger mission), other flights had experienced lesser versions of the same problem that caused the Challenger explosion. Trouble is, neither the astronauts nor their families knew about it. But the manufacturer of the shuttle's solid rocket booster (SRB) and solid rocket motor (SRM) knew. So did some of the management officials at NASA.

Roger Boisjoly a Morton Thiokol engineer, did his best to warn both his employer and NASA. He, and others, knew about the design flaw. But the people Boisjoly reported to wouldn’t listen. And the people who made the ultimate decisions at NASA weren’t told.