Bob Ebeling, along with four other engineers at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol, did all they could to stop the launch of the space shuttle Challenger 30 years ago. The nation lost seven astronauts when the space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after the its launch. The incident left Ebeling in depression and to date the 89-year-old engineer has not recovered from the guilt and grief.

The night before the scheduled launch of the Challenger mission, all the five engineers tried to convince their managers and NASA to cancel the launch. But their arguments were denied and the launch was given a green signal. The outcome of that left the entire nation mourning and in deep shock. The night before the launch after his failed attempt to stop it, Ebeling told his wife that the space shuttle will explode. Challenger’s explosion left the five engineers staggered as they saw the event sitting in a conference room at Thiokol's headquarters outside Brigham City.

The first account of the controversial meeting that happened before the launch was reported anonymously by Ebeling and another engineer, Roger Boisjoly to NPR. Both the engineers explained in detail the data assessments and arguments that lasted for hours. The assessment revealed that the rubber seals, which were installed on the booster rockets of the shuttle, would not get sealed in a proper manner in cold temperatures and it will undeniably result in a disaster.

After 30 years of that disaster, Ebeling allowed NPR to reveal his identity. “I was one of the few that was really close to the situation. Had they listened to me and wait[ed] for a weather change, it might have been a completely different outcome”, recalled Ebeling. He added that NASA gave a go-ahead to the launch because they were on a mission to prove that they were right and in control of their actions. In reality, they were not!