Allen McDonald
Truth, Lies, and O-rings:
Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
Allen McDonald's lecture focuses on
the unique aspects of his book:Only book written by someone who was actually involved in the launch decision, tried to prevent the launch, and later revealed this information to the Presidential Commission when NASA management failed to do so.
Only book to address all the factors that led to the accident, some of which were never addressed in NASA’s Failure Team Report to the Presidential Commission.
Only book containing personal experiences of a whistle-blower, retribution against that individual by his company, and his reinstatement to lead the redesign as a result of pressure from the Presidential Commission and the U.S. Congress.
Only book to critically evaluate all testimony given to the Presidential Commission and the U.S. Congress and to point out conflicts and evidence of a cover-up by some NASA officials concerning the launch decision.
Only book to address the controversy, conflicts, and difficulties encountered in the redesign program to restore the Shuttle to safe flight as soon as possible.
Only book to address early warnings of very severe debris issues from the first two flights after Challenger in 1988, which resulted in the loss of Columbia nearly 15 years later.
Only book to address what happened to all the people at NASA and Morton Thiokol who were involved in the ill-fated decision to launch Challenger on that cold chilly morning of 28 January 1986.
Event Details
Date: September 15th
Times: 12:15 pm - 1:30pm and 6:00 - 7:15pm12:15 - 1:30: The Schumann Auditorium (Room B120 of Buckman Hall) in the Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven.
6:00 - 7:15: Moulton Room, 2nd floor of Bartels Hall, adjacent to the Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven.
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Tagliatela College of Engineering (12:15 p.m. talk)
Bartels Hall (6:00 p.m. talk)Flash Earth (preferred for GPS and satellite imagery):
Tagliatela College of Engineering (12:15 p.m. talk)
Bartels Hall (6:00 p.m. talk)
Admission: Dinner ($5.00 per person, but free for students) will be available after the evening talk.There will be a book signing at the end of each talk. Books will be available for purchase at the event.
Important: If you are coming to the midday talk, there is no need to RSVP. However, for planning purposes, we need a head count for the evening talk and for the dinner. If you plan to attend the evening talk and/or dinner, please click here to RSVP by September 13th.
Event Sponsors: ASME New Haven and the Robert Alvine Engineering Professional Effectiveness and Enrichment Program at UNH
Biographical Sketch
Allan J. McDonald received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University in 1959 and an M.S. in Engineering Administration from the University of Utah in 1967, retiring in 2001 from ATK Thiokol Propulsion after a 42-year career with the company. He was the Director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project at the time of the Challenger accident and led the redesign of the solid rocket motors as Vice President of Engineering for Space Operations. He has several patents related to rocket propulsion, published over 80 technical papers that have been presented in national and international conferences, and received numerous professional awards.
He received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Montana State University in 1986, was selected as Montana State University’s Centennial Alumnus in 1987 by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, is a Fellow member and a Distinguished Lecturer for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Orbital Technologies Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin.
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