The Nation - News from Aug. 5, 1987
A redesigned space shuttle booster joint was given its first major test, and the firing was hailed as a success by officials from NASA and Morton Thiokol Inc. The new joint configuration prevented super-hot gases from escaping from the scaled-down rocket motor during a 50-second firing at Morton Thiokol’s proving ground 20 miles west of Brigham City, Utah, said Allan McDonald, director of the company’s task force to redesign the rocket motor. Leaking gases from a faulty joint have been blamed for the Jan. 28, 1986, explosion of the shuttle Challenger.
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