On 28th January 1989, NASA's Challenger space shuttle exploded 73 seconds into its tenth flight, killing the seven people on-board. Although a gasket designed to prevent leakage of hot gases during the boost phase, an 'O-ring', was the direct cause of the accident, the Rogers Commission's investigation established that NASA's organizational culture had been a major contributing factor, with the potential shortcomings of the O-ring having been recognized back in 1977. A tragic and costly 'information disaster'.
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