Prior to the Challenger break-up, was anyone able to tell at Mission Control or watching from the ground that something was about to go disastrously wrong? We've seen the rogue flame leaving the Booster Rocket - but was it seen at the time of the launch?
by 
Mawgan
ANSWERS: 3
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At the time of the launch the Solid Rocket Motor seal assembly was not elastic enough to be able to flex to a sufficient degree due to the ambient temperature. Aluminium is a by product of the fuel's ignition and it is thought that a piece of it jammed in and plugged the gap left by the failed seal. However, as the shuttle neared Max-Q (maximum dynamic pressure) it encountered significant wind shear, the two combined were enough to dislodge the aluminium plug and lead to the destruction of the space craft. No problem was indicated until very soon before destruction as all systems appeared nominal.
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At the time that the boosters ignited, there was a puff of smoke that came from the one booster's failed seal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sts-33_d67_01.jpg). This was the first sign that something was wrong. Unfortunately, it was not observed by anyone at the time and, even if it had been, it was too late to stop the lift off. Once the solid rocket boosters are lit, the shuttle can't abort until they burn out. If I remember correctly, the later investigations also showed that the problems with the O-rings that ultimately led to the disaster had been known, but had not been taken seriously enough.
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As I recall, the engineers said LONG before the launch that disaster was inevitable and wanted to scrub the launch. Of course policy makers and management don't like listening to the nay-sayers who actually know the physical limitations of the equipment so the launch went up as scheduled... and failed pretty much how the engineers said it would.
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