ACM Word Template for SIG Site Samia Sohail 00971-56-9723994 201320050@agu.ac.ae ABSTRACT In this paper, we will analyze the ethical correctness of the managerial decisions that were made by NASA which ultimately resulted in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger after it took-off on January 28th, 1986 Categories and Subject Descriptors A.1 INTRODUCTION AND SURVEY A.2 REFERENCE (e.g. dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries) A.m MISCELLANEOUS General Terms Management, Human Factors Keywords Space shuttle challenger disaster, O-ring, ethical correctness, NSPE ethics. 1. INTRODUCTION The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on the 28th of January, 1986. The Challenger broke into pieces after being airborne for …show more content…
On the morning of January 28, it was highly cold. The engineers had previously warned their respective superiors of the faulty components, especially the rubber O-rings that were used to seal the joints of the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. The engineers also warned that the O-ring would fail at a temperature as low as this. However, these warnings went unnoticed. Nevertheless at 11:39 a.m. the challenger was given the green signal to take off. The investigational commission at NASA issued a report on the incident and declared the cause of the disaster as a failure of an "O-ring" seal in the solid-fuel rocket on the right side of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The faulty design of the seal and along with that the oddly cold weather before launch, led to hot gases leaking through the joint. This allowed the flames from the booster rocket to pass through the faulty seal that had failed and it further enlarged the small hole. Eventually, the flames went through to the Challenger's external fuel tank. It went up through one of the supports that attached the booster to the side of the tank. The booster then went slack and had a collision with the tank further piercing the side of the fuel tank. Fuels of liquid hydrogen mixed with those of liquid oxygen and caught fire, which caused the Space Shuttle Challenger to blow …show more content…
The National Society of Professional Engineers states that the most important ethical principle is to "hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public" (NSPE). For that reason, this decision was made in order to protect the safety of the seven astronauts aboard the Challenger. Not enough importance was given to the engineers who felt that the o-rings would not work properly. Another point stated by the NSPE says that “Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts” which again brings to notice the fact that the decision was wrongly acquitted and hidden from general public and the astronauts aboard the shuttle which cost them their lives. (NSPE.org