The ethics behind the space exploration frenzy has remained persistent for many years now. However, never has space exploration elicited more debate, controversy and calls for abandonment than the days that followed the space shuttle Challenger accident. Seeking to improve its record of sending manned mission to space, the United States, through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), sought to send a crew of seven astronauts to a space expedition whose aim, as it always been, seeking to explore and understand the outer space.
Background Information
The lift off from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center was televised live on major American channels and thousands stood close by to witness what was to go down as a leading space exploration undertaking since the moon landing expedition. However, 73 seconds after liftoff, pieces of debris from the space shuttle Challenger rained down and the nation, and the world, stood shocked and grieved. The current paper analyzes the events that led to the accident as per the findings of investigations. Besides, held herein are suggestions on the way that the launch expedition could have undertaken to avoid the accident.
Summary of Technical Failure
Following the accident, President Ronald Reagan appointed a commission of enquiry to investigate and determine the cause of the accident and recommend strategies to ensure that NASA rebranded to being a competitive agency it had always been. The 13-member committee was to be chaired by William P. Rodgers, a former Secretary of State, and it had to present their findings within a duration of 120 days. Apparently, the duties of the commission were well cut out; finding the causes of the accident and recommend correction action to ensure that America never underwent the grief, the embarrassment and the losses that arose from the accident. The commission was to interview all the teams that were involved in the planning and developing of the space shuttle and all the teams that were directly and indirectly involved in the management of the lift off of the shuttle.
The Rodgers commission, after their 120-day enquiry, established the cause of the accident as to be the failure of two joints on the lower segment of the solid motor of the shuttle’s engine. It was established that hot gases escaped to areas in the system of the engine that were not meant to hold such gases. The committee had consensus that the accident arose due to design defects and the weather conditions that prevailed on the day of lift-off. Deeper investigations had revealed that some top managers had turned down requests to put off lift off until a later date when the weather was more appropriate for the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was apparent that some previous schedules for lift off had been abandoned and the managers had worried that continued postponement could hurt the interests of NASA and the other agencies that were involved. The commission also received evidence of top managers telling advisers to let go their engineering hats and wear their management hats.
After conducting several rounds of interviews, it was established that the cold weather of the morning of lift off played a significant role in the failure and the eventual accident of the space ship. It was found out that the cold weather led to the malfunctioning of the O-Rings used to seal gases in the various chambers of the space shuttle’s engines (Logsdon, 2009). Following concerted investigations, it was established that Sally Rider, who headed the subcommittee on operations and the first female astronaut in the United States, had anonymously leaked information to an American Air Force General proofing that fact. Through Ride’s anonymous leak, it was clear that NASA knew that cold weather could initiate defects on the O-Rings that sealed the gas chambers. However, due to recklessness, NASA failed to wait until the weather improved before liftoff could be initiated. Apparently, the defected O-Rings lead to the leakage of gases all through the shuttle’s systems and within 73 seconds after liftoff it exploded burning up over 2 million liters of fuel, which further enhanced the damage.
Decision-making Gaps that Led to the Accident
Further investigations revealed that management issues also played a part in the tragedy of that day. The top-level managers of NASA were blinded by the success of previous space expeditions and took it as a matter of formality during the preparations of the Challenger mission. The Rodgers Commission established that managers were indeed oblivious of the fact that every expedition required its own preparation and that previous success did not guarantee the success of current exploration missions. From the evidence that the commission gathered, it was clear that the top managers at NASA did not coordinate as effectively as they had always done in the missions preceding the ill-fated Challenger mission. Apparently, evidence had been provided to indicate that the managers disregarded the advice of experts to put on hold the lift off of the Space Shuttle Challenger until some issues were addressed. However, the managers overruled the advice and went on to lift off and 73 seconds later America witnessed perhaps its worst space exploration accident in history.
Actions that Could Have Prevented the Accident
The Rodgers Commission also established that the teams lacked openness and transparency during the design development and mission preparation of the Challenger expedition. Obviously, the accident could have been avoided had the teams developed a trust policy to control their cooperation. The design team could have notified the other teams that the O-Rings used in the engines could be defective during instances of low temperatures. Additionally, the engineering teams could have investigated all the components of the system of challenger and ascertain that they were able to perform the functions they were intended to enhance the success of the space ship. The lack of cooperation between the various teams that were involved in the preparation of the expedition could have also been addressed before the lift off schedule.
The Space Shuttle Challenger accident also brought to the fore the governmental failures in managing government-funded space expeditions. The government had set aside funds to facilitate the development of the space vehicle but failed to ensure that the intended mission was attained. It is appalling that the government was oblivious of the fact that various issues had not been settled prior to the launch of the expedition. The accident could have been avoided had the government taken serious efforts to stream line the operations of NASA and the other agencies that were involved in the preparation of the expedition. Considering the national pride that was at stake, the American government could have been fully involved in all the stages of the mission, just like it was the case in all the other previous space exploration missions.
Conclusion
Reference
Logsdon, J. (2009). Truths, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle challenger Disaster. Space Policy, 25(4), 269-269.Retrieved from : http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2009.09.002
