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Case Study: Resul Rockwell International Corporation

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Primary stakeholders:
NASA had a direct interest in the launch as it already had got overwhelming publicity and became the centre of attraction due to the fact that for the first time it had raised the aspiration of civilians by taking on board a non-astronaut lady, a teacher among the crew. NASA was in haste to launch the mission because of huge political and social pressure as it had been previously cancelled several (five) times. The financial gain, 24/7 media coverage and above all the previous successful launches of the shuttles also overshadowed the safety of the crew and the mission.
Besides the fact that the management of Thiokol could not convey properly the consequences of the deficiencies in the shuttle, there was also a failure in crucial communication by the grounds crew of NASA to produce the erroneous temperature recorded during their final inspection. They omitted to report that the temperature they recorded was far below the temperature range that the O-rings were designed for their use, as the crew was instructed only to report on the thickness of ice on the shuttle.
The crew had a direct interest in the launch despite having the knowledge of the risks involved in the mission. The suppression could be the …show more content…

Rockwell however, was not directly involved in the incident as it does not manufacture the shuttle’s external tank and solid-fuel boosters. These were the prime suspect of the Challenger explosion; however, they also were concerned before the launch of space shuttle but failed to genuinely convince the NASA management. Early on the day of launch, the president of Rockwell’s Space Transportation Division was called to report the result of the Ice Team Inspection. Rockwell immediately instructed through its representatives to NASA that the launch was unsafe. Unfortunately, it was ignored as

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