Roger Boisjoly
contributorSafety, Investigation & Ethics
Morton Thiokol engineer who documented Space Shuttle solid-rocket-booster joint hazards and argued against launching Challenger in unusually cold weather.
- Primary role
- Aerospace engineer and flight-safety advocate
- Lifespan
- 1938–2012
- Relationships
- 3
- Sources
- 4
Biography
Place in spaceflight history
Boisjoly worked on the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster field-joint seals, raised repeated concerns about O-ring erosion and temperature sensitivity, opposed the STS-51-L launch recommendation, and later testified before the Rogers Commission.
His actions became a central case in engineering ethics, organizational decision-making, and the responsibility to communicate flight-safety risk.
Roger Boisjoly’s archive record spans Mechanical engineer, Solid rocket booster engineer, Engineering ethics advocate through work connected with Morton Thiokol. The linked record places that work within Space Shuttle.
Career profile
Roles, organizations, and programs
Roles
- Mechanical engineer
- Solid rocket booster engineer
- Engineering ethics advocate
Organizations
Programs
- Space Shuttle
Archive relationships
Named records, programs, and organizations connected to this archive identity.
Sources
Original references supporting this record. Each source opens on its publisher’s website.
- 1.NASA: Rogers Commission hearing testimony, Roger Boisjoly and Arnold ThompsonOpens external site
- 2.NASA: Rogers Commission ReportOpens external site
- 3.Online Ethics Center: Roger Boisjoly and the Challenger DisasterOpens external site
- 4.University of Massachusetts Lowell: portrait source and rights recordOpens external site