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From: LIN@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU (Herb Lin)
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: news: Challenger lost (and note on self-destruct mechanism)
Message-ID: <[MC.LCS.MIT.EDU].801048.860129.LIN>
Date: Wed, 29-Jan-86 18:18:19 EST
Article-I.D.: <[MC.LCS.MIT.EDU].801048.860129.LIN>
Posted: Wed Jan 29 18:18:19 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Feb-86 02:54:11 EST
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    From: kyle.wbst at Xerox.COM

    Does anyone know if a rifle shot on the big tank would be enough to
    structurally weaken it such that during that portion of the launch with
    maximum stress the thing might rupture?

It is obvious that at the time of the explosion, no rifle bullet hit
it.  Thus, any shot must have been fired much sooner.  The rifle shot
must then be timed in such a way that it is fast enough to weaken the
casing, but not strong enough to penetrate it.  It seems that that
window is pretty small.

If you are into pure, unadulterated speculation, another possibility
is that a bullet was fired while it was on the ground into an SRB, and
lodged there.  When the fuel burned to that point, a jet leaked out,
and triggered an explosion.