Space Shuttle Challenger Accident and NASA Safety Reform, 1986

Space and Aviation

Pamphlets

Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, Report to the President: Report at a Glance, 1986, documents the federal investigation system created after the destruction of Space Shuttle Challenger and supports research into NASA safety culture, aerospace engineering failure, federal oversight, and public accountability after technological disaster. The report summarizes the Commission’s findings on STS-51-L, which broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986, killing Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Christa McAuliffe, and Gregory B. Jarvis. Its value lies in showing how presidential inquiry translated mission data, engineering analysis, and management critique into recommendations for safer human spaceflight.

Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. Report to the President: Report at a Glance. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986. First edition. Approximately 30 pages. Illustrated with the Challenger crew portrait, diagrams, and summary material drawn from Volume I of the Rogers Commission Report. The pamphlet opens with an “In Memoriam” page and includes William P. Rogers’s June 6, 1986 letter to President Ronald Reagan. The main findings identify failure in the right Solid Rocket Booster field joint and O-ring sealing system as the immediate cause, with cold launch conditions and weaknesses in NASA’s decision-making structure central to the Commission’s analysis.

The pamphlet documents NASA accident investigation through memorial framing, technical diagrams, causal findings, and recommendations, revealing how engineering evidence and institutional accountability were presented for public and governmental understanding. The abbreviated format also clarifies the larger five-volume report structure, with Volume I containing findings and appendices A-D, later volumes containing additional appendices and hearings. Light foxing to cover, small owner’s name written at upper right, interior pages clean and well preserved; overall very good condition. A concise official summary of the Rogers Commission’s findings, central to the history of U.S. spaceflight safety and post-Challenger reform.

Item #22426

Price: $450.00