They worked for Morton Thiokol (now ATK Thiokol), the Utah-based NASA contractor which produced the solid rocket motors that lifted space shuttles from their launch pads.

NPR: Challenger: Reporting a Disaster's Cold, Hard Facts

Seventy-three seconds into the flight, as the spacecraft began an expected roll, the forces on the solid rocket motors began to pull one of them apart.

NPR: Challenger: Reporting a Disaster's Cold, Hard Facts

As a result, real concerns are beginning to be expressed about the viability of the U.S. industrial base for solid-fuel rocket motors.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Farewell to space

Among those items reportedly slated for decontrol are sensors capable of testing missile silos, high-speed microprocessors with a wide variety of applications for military systems, solid and liquid rocket motors and spacecraft, advanced lasers, electronic navigation equipment, and sophisticated machine tools.

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