Cause/Effect of disaster  

The consensus of the Commission and participating investigative
agencies is that the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger was caused
by a failure in the joint between the two lower segments of the right
Solid Rocket Motor.  The specific failure was the destruction of the
seals that are intended to prevent hot gases from leaking through the
joint during the propellant burn of the rocket motor.  The evidence
assembled by the Commission indicates that no other element of the
Space Shuttle system contributed to this failure.

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