In 1986 the US space program suffered a severe setback with the tragic explosion during the launch of the Challenger space shuttle. The cause of the explosion was traced to leakage of rocket-fuel vapour precipitated by a defect in an O-ring used in the booster rockets. AECL was one of several organizations contracted by Morton Thiokol, the prime contractor for the booster rockets, to assist with the development of improved O-rings. The project was successful and many additional accident-free launches of the shuttle were subsequently achieved.
Northrop Grumman, the project managers for the entire space shuttle program, donated one of the redesigned O-rings to the Society in 2020. The specially-formulated rubber O-rings, which sit captive in grooves around the 3.8 m diameter rocker boosters, measure 11.9 m in total circumference. The circular cross-section of the rings is just under 8 mm in diameter.
