Undoubtedly, one of the most tragic moments in history was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. On January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff , killing all 7 of the crew members onboard. There were many theories about what could have caused the explosion to occur. One report claimed that there was a certain pattern with the smoke trail indicating that the shuttle ran into a jetstream. However, freezing temperatures hardened rubber o-rings on one side of the rocket boosters, causing the explosion. Hot gases escaped and then as the shuttle hit the jetstream it caused flames to escape which combusted nearly 2 million liters of fuel (Villa Bal, 2011). The freezing weather was a major contributor
