Abstract
On 28th January 1986 the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after launch, killing all seven of its crew, including “America's teacher in space”, Christie McAuliffe. Subsequent extensive enquiries confirmed that the primary cause of this disaster was the failure of an O-ring seal between the joints of the shuttle's solid rocket booster. While technological factors and the design of the boosters were closely examined, much attention focused on the decision-making processes concerned with assessing shuttle reliability.