The entire shuttle program was plagued by a pattern of ignoring safety objections. It was widely known ahead of disasters that the whistle-blowers were right about many issues, but were ignored. I made this point in another HN thread about Challenger, but if you drive drunk on a regular basis, it is not safe and it is only a matter of time before you crash and kill a family of four. The fact that you have driven drunk for 20 years and haven't killed anyone yet doesn't change the fact that driving drunk was dangerous.
Evidence of this phenomenon in the shuttle program was that foam shedding (insulation for the main fuel tank falling off during launch) was observed as early as 1983, and had been noted as a substantial risk many times over the years. Engineers pressed for high resolution images to inspect damage, but those requests were denied. NASA continued to "drive drunk" over the years, even after Challenger, and inevitably, disaster struck when Columbia was damaged by a piece of foam that broke off during launch, resulting in disintegration during reentry.[1] After grounding the fleet and improving safety, the very next launch suffered similar foam shedding, though from a different part of the tank. The launch after that was also pressed, after delays and objections from the chief engineer and safety officer.
Evidence of this phenomenon in the shuttle program was that foam shedding (insulation for the main fuel tank falling off during launch) was observed as early as 1983, and had been noted as a substantial risk many times over the years. Engineers pressed for high resolution images to inspect damage, but those requests were denied. NASA continued to "drive drunk" over the years, even after Challenger, and inevitably, disaster struck when Columbia was damaged by a piece of foam that broke off during launch, resulting in disintegration during reentry.[1] After grounding the fleet and improving safety, the very next launch suffered similar foam shedding, though from a different part of the tank. The launch after that was also pressed, after delays and objections from the chief engineer and safety officer.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaste...