Status Updates From Challenger: A True Story of...

“It was then that they noticed a curious new anomaly: one of the synthetic rubber gaskets sealing the sections of the rocket together seemed to have been badly damaged—burned or partly vaporized—at some point during the course of its two-minute flight. Alarmed, the Thiokol inspectors filed a report… But it wasn’t a high-priority problem. Plans for the next flight proceeded regardless.”