I need some assistance with these assignment. the space shuttle challenger disaster Thank you in advance for the help! The O-ring’s failure was attributed to a number of issues, including insufficient O-ring’s material low-temperature testing, Solid Rocket &nbsp.Boosters’ (SRB) defective design, and poor communication amid the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) management (Vaughan, 2009, P.56).&nbsp.

The managers at NASA, for several reasons, were apprehensive to launch the&nbsp.Challenger. This also included political pressures, scheduling backlogs, and economic considerations. Unanticipated competition from European Space Agency (ESA) pushed NASA into flying the&nbsp.Challenger dependably on an ambitious schedule purposed at proving the cost-effectiveness and commercialization potential of the Space Transportation System. This, in 1986, impelled NASA to program a record of missions aimed at making a case for the budget requests. Actually, prior to the&nbsp.Challenger, there had been several delays in the shuttle mission owing to mechanical factors and inclement weather. NASA, without delaying, intended to launch the Challenger. NASA knew that launching the shuttle in time would enable them to collect data before the Russians who also planned a similar launch (Micklos, 2014, p.47). In addition, Mahler, 2009 believes that pressure to launch resulted from the desire that the Challenger be in space while the State of the Union address was being given by President Reagan. The main topic of Reagan’s address was education, and there were expectations that he would mention Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, and generally the shuttle.

The SRB is the main element of the shuttle’s operation. The absence of the boosters simply means inadequate thrust production by the shuttle. This thrust is what achieves orbit and helps overcome the gravitational pull of the Earth. Often, the SRB is attached to the external fuel tank sides. Every booster’s diameter is&nbsp.12 feet and 149 feet long. Every booster approximately weighs 2 million pounds before ignition. Generally, per pound, the SRB produces a higher thrust compared to the liquid fuel counterparts.&nbsp.