Bob Ebeling, the former Morton Thiokol engineer who had worked on the Space Shuttle Challenger and tried to prevent its fateful launch in 1986, passed away in Brigham City, Utah, according to his family. He was 89 years old.
For the past 30 years, Ebeling had been living with the guilt of not being able to stop the space shuttle's launch.
He was the one who found out that the spacecraft's rubber O-ring seals, which helped keep rocket fuel from reaching its larger booster rockets, would likely stiffen because of the particularly cold temperatures on that January morning.
Ebeling contacted his boss at Morton Thiokol about his discovery. However, he was ultimately overruled by executives at the company and the Challenger's launch went on as scheduled.
About 73 seconds into its launch, the space shuttle encountered problems and it burst into flames in mid-flight. The explosion killed all seven of Challenger's crew members.
Shortly after the space shuttle disaster, Ebeling chose to retire from his job. He spent the rest of his life taking care of birds that make their way into the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah. The sanctuary has served as an important stop for more than 250 species of birds that migrate every year.
In a recent interview for National Public Radio (NPR), Ebeling said that he still had regrets about not being able to convince NASA or Morton Thiokol officials to postpone the space shuttle's launch at least until the weather became warmer.
"I think that was one of the mistakes God made," Ebeling said. "He shouldn't have picked me for that job."
The NPR story reached hundreds of people who were sympathetic toward the former engineer. They sent Ebeling letters of encouragement during the last few days of his life, including two messages from former NASA and Morton Thiokol officials who told him that the Challenger disaster was their fault and not his.
Ebeling thanked all the people who wrote to him, saying that their letters helped him have peace.
Following his passing on Monday, Ebeling's daughter, Leslie Ebeling Serna, said that it was as if her father was finally able to get permission from the world.
"He was able to let that part of his life go," Serna said.
