Allan McDonald

Biography

Allan J. McDonald received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University in 1959 and an M.S. in Engineering Administration from the University of Utah in 1967; retiring in 2001 from ATK Thiokol Propulsion after a 42-year career with the company. He was the Director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project at the time of the Challenger accident and led the redesign of the solid rocket motors as Vice President of Engineering for Space Operations. He has several patents related to rocket propulsion, published over 80 technical papers that have been presented in national and international conferences, and received numerous professional awards.

He received an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Montana State University in 1986, was selected as Montana State University`s Centennial Alumnus in 1987 by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, is a Fellow member and a Distinguished Lecturer for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Orbital Technologies Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin.

Dr. McDonald has recently published a book through the University Press of Florida titled: Truth, Lies, and O-rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster with Dr. James R. Hansen, author of the New York Times bestseller FIRST MAN - The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. (Simon & Schuster 2005).

Publications

Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
"On a cold January morning in 1986, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Challenger, despite warnings against doing so by many individuals, including Allan McDonald. The fiery destruction of Challenger on live television moments after launch remains an indelible image in the nation`s collective memory."

"In Truth, Lies, and O-Rings, McDonald, a skilled engineer and executive, relives the tragedy from where he stood at Launch Control Center. As he fought to draw attention to the real reasons behind the disaster, he was the only one targeted for retribution by both NASA and his employer, Morton Thiokol, Inc., makers of the shuttle`s solid rocket boosters. In this whistle-blowing yet rigorous and fair-minded book, McDonald, with the assistance of internationally distinguished aerospace historian James R. Hansen, addresses all of the factors that led to the accident, some of which were never included in NASA`s Failure Team report submitted to the Presidential Commission.

" Truth, Lies, and O-Rings is the first look at the Challenger tragedy and its aftermath from someone who was on the inside, recognized the potential disaster, and tried to prevent it. It also addresses the early warnings of very severe debris issues from the first two post-Challenger flights, which ultimately resulted in the loss of Columbia some fifteen years later.

Titles

3 Reasons Not to Launch:
Allan had given NASA three reasons to delay the launch of the Shuttle the night before the launch, but the real reason that the Shuttle failed was not known until two years after the accident.

Refused to Sign:
NASA applied pressure to Allan to sign a "Go for Launch" document prepared by his boss, a company Vice President, but he refused to do so. He calls this the smartest decision he's ever made.

Demoted and Reinstated:
After Allan testified before the Presidential Commission investigating the accident, he was immediately removed from his position by his company. A strange sequence of events lead him back to being reinstated and eventually promoted to lead the team responsible for redesigning the boosters to return the Space Shuttle to safe flight as soon as possible.