On the morning of January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated in mid-flight as the nation watched in disbelief and sadness. The cause of the Challenger accident was determined to be a system design failure of one of the shuttle's solid boosters. Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) are a pair of large solid rockets that were used by NASA during the first two minutes of the Space Shuttle Challenger launch. The pair of SRBs were applied to provide additional boost to the Space Shuttle's takeoff during liftoff. Each SRB was located on either side of the spacecraft's external propellant tank. Once they begin operating, “the thrusters separate from the orbiter/external tank, descend on parachutes, and land in the Atlantic Ocean” (Wilson, 2006). NASA would then send ships to the Atlantic Ocean to recover the boosters. The boosters have been refurbished so they can be reused. According to NASA officials, “SRBs were the largest solid fuel rocket engines ever used and the first to be used for primary propulsion on human spaceflight missions” (Wilson, 2006). During the preparation, the NASA administration was very categorical. on the launch of the Challenger due to “economic considerations, political pressure and planning delays” (The Engineer, 2006). Some previous missions have been delayed for various reasons related to weather and mechanical factors. Several Challenger mechanisms were not as suitable as they should have been due to decisions made during the design process. These decisions were driven by the lack of timely funding during the shuttle design and development process. However, regarding the Challenger launch, NASA wanted to emphasize that ... middle of paper ...... would never have been launched by NASA. Appropriate analyzes and tests should have been carried out to ensure that the SRBs would be safe for launch. References Fritts, D. (2004, June 29). Testability on the Shuttle program. Retrieved from http://www.testability.com/Reference/Tales.aspx?Story=ShuttleLethridge, C. (2012). The Legacy of the Challenger. Excerpted from Spaceline-Covering the past, present and future of Cape Canaveral - Challenger: http://www.spaceline.org/challenger.htmlThe Engineer. (October 24, 2006). The space shuttle Challenger disaster. Retrieved from http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/170/The-Space-Shuttle-Challenger-Disaster.aspxWilson, J. (2006, March 5). Solid rocket boosters. Retrieved from Space Shuttle: http://web.archive.org/web/20130406193019/http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_SRB.html