> fuel (or oxygen, don't remember) leaked from the joints. The o-rings were in joints connecting sections of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The gas blowin

> fuel (or oxygen, don't remember) leaked from the joints. The o-rings were in joints connecting sections of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The gas blowing past them was the superheated exhaust from the burning solid propellant. This plume of exhaust gas impinged on a strut attaching the SRB to the big orange external fuel tank (ET) (which held liquid hydrogen and oxygen for the space shuttle main engines located on the orbiter.) This soon lead to the damaged SRB detaching from the ET and colliding with it. The ET then catastrophically failed, creating a huge fireball. Some of the crew were likely still alive until their compartment hit the ocean.