Despite Lucas' achievements (he received nearly every honor that NASA could bestow), few people outside the aerospace community heard of him prior to the "Challenger" tragedy. In the aftermath of the incident, it emerged that key personnel at Marshall, including Lucas, knew of a potentially catastrophic design flaw with the SRBs as early as 1977. The SRBs' "field joints" were supposed to close more tightly as a result of forces generated by ignition. Instead, the metal parts of the SRB casing bent "away" from each other, opening a gap through which hot gases could leak out and erode the O-ring seals. In the event of serious erosion, the booster could burst—which would destroy the shuttle.