An Introduction to Graphics: Good Graphics, Bad Graphics, Catastrophic Graphics and Statistical Graphics

The cause of the disaster was eventually traced to the O-rings that sealed the joints of the rocket motor. One of the O-ring seals had failed at liftoff allowing pressurized hot gas to escape from within the solid rocket motor leading to the eventual structural failure of the rocket; aerodynamic forces did the rest. The O-ring failure was ascribed to the low temperature at launch.