The report identifies NASA as "working with an unrealistic set of flights" (Cases Study. N.D.); timelines "which were retained and increased pressure to meet schedules by senior NASA managers" (Case Study. N.D.). The Challenger disaster was marked by the reality that
"NASA had found evidence that O-rings had allowed hot exhaust to burn through a primary seal. Since 1982 the O-rings had been designated a "Criticality 1" issue. Indeed, a January shuttle launch in cold weather just a year earlier had shown significant burn through of the O-rings. The day before the Challenger launch, engineers at Morton Thiokol, a NASA contractor, raised concerns that the frigid temperatures at Cape Canaveral would cause the shuttle's rocket booster "O-rings" to fail -- which would mean catastrophe for the shuttle. Just hours before liftoff, Thiokol engineers were recommending that the launch be delayed. After hours of discussion, NASA pressed forward with the launch anyway" (O'Leary, J. June 2, 2010).
Much like the Challenger incident the CAIB report finds "NASA management practices to be as much a cause of the accident as the foam that struck the left wing 81 sec into flight. These practices included: allowing the shuttle to fly with known flaws, blocking the flow of critical information up the hierarchy, and inadequate safety monitoring" (O'Leary, J. June 2,...
As they pushed engineers to continually test the limits when it came to the launches. This is because, the leadership inside NASA and at the different subcontractors created an atmosphere that made this possible. (Gross 1997) (Space Shuttle Challenger Case Study n.d.) The Influence of the Media Given the high profile nature of the program, meant that there were considerable pressures to be ready for the next shuttle launch. This is
Judgment in Managerial Decision Making Almost everyone has, at some point, been a victim of groupthink -- perhaps by thinking of speaking up in a meeting, and then deciding not to, so as not to appear unsupportive of the team's stand. Although such occurrences are quite common, and may appear quite normal, they are indicative of faulty thinking. Groupthink is, in basic terms, "a phenomenon that occurs when the desire for
Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster: What Happened and Lessons The Space Shuttle Columbia (Columbia) disaster occurred on the 1st of February, 2003. On its return journey from space following its 28th mission, Columbia disintegrated after re-entering the earth's atmosphere, killing the entire crew.[footnoteRef:1] Whereas technical failures were responsible for the disasters, investigations have extensively faulted deficiencies in NASA's organisational culture, especially in terms of organisational structure, communication, and decision making processes.[footnoteRef:2],[footnoteRef:3] This
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on January 28, 1986 as the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up into pieces just 73 seconds after its launch. The destruction blew the shuttle into flames and dust causing the death of all seven crew members. Even though the crash was a sad moment in the history of NASA and United States Space programs, it is still being studied merely to figure out
NASA After the Challenger disaster, NASA was required to make changes in the way it managed its operations. There was to be more communication and more centralization, as well as better consultation with experts in order to make sure that the shuttle did not launch when it was not safe to do so. Despite all of the alleged changes, though, further disaster occurred. This was believed to be a product of
In addition, the Rogers Commission made specific recommendations related to these issues. They suggested that NASA restructure its management system, including bringing astronauts into management positions, which will increase attention to flight safety issues. They suggested a full examination of all critical systems before conducting any more shuttle launches. They were instructed to establish an Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality control. These suggestions bring safety back to prominence in
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