Challenger
(Sriram, Danely, Alvin, Xeon)
The Challenger disaster was a catastrophic event that took place in 1986 where the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing the seven astronauts on board. While it seemed to be an accident, there was every possibility of preventing it. Boisjoly was one of a group of engineers who warned Morton Thiokol and NASA of the defective o-rings, used in rocket boosters, that were prone to fail in low temperatures. Temperatures fell below freezing the night before, and they ignored his warnings - endangering the lives on the astronauts on board. Both organizations had two conflicts of interest: money and the careers of upper management. In the case of the Challenger disaster, Roger Boisjoly suffered the consequences of compromising those two things because of the bad ethical leadership in place.
Both Morton Thiokol and NASA were under the scrutiny of the entire nation, and they felt that they couldn’t afford to call off a space mission the day of. Everyone in the nation in a way, has a say in the space program, as it’s funded by taxpayer dollars. No one would approve of funding a program that yields no results. The management had a conflict of interest because putting off the launch would have been bad for their reputation. They tried to cover up the true source of the disaster. After Boisjoly exposed them, they retaliated against him. They shut him out of space projects, and made his life unbearable. After six months, he finally gave up and took leave after being diagnosed with PTSD. His actions were criticized for going against the company, essentially for telling the public the truth.
The federal commission in charge of investigating the incident blamed the “flawed process of decision making” and not the individuals who made the decision. Then, the lawsuits Boisjoly filed against Morton Thiokol and NASA were dismissed after the Justice Department refused to join it. The ethical leadership set by Morton Thiokol and NASA was poor, and the judicial system did nothing to help that by dropping the cases filed by Boisjoly. This disaster was not a lesson learned by NASA as the same situation occured again 2003 with the disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia. Again, a space launch was approved despite warnings given by engineers, and another seven lives were added to the death toll caused by poor ethical leadership.
This kind of disaster could have been prevented in so many ways. The simplest solution would have been to have the administration listen to engineers like Boisjoly. It should go without saying that NASA should’ve prioritized the safety of the astronauts instead of the financial implications of cancelling the launch. However, from the disasters of Challenger and Columbia, it is clear that a change in management is necessary in order to ensure that ethical decisions are made. The engineers who understood the technology and saw the dangers of it, took it upon themselves to try to prevent the launch. They knew the exact repercussions the bad design had on the flight. On the other hand, the management probably only saw what a cancelled flight would mean for their organizations. Had the engineers been given a voice in the decision of whether or not to proceed with the launch, both incidents could have been avoided. Lewis, Linda. Remembering Roger Boisjoly, Challenger disaster whistleblower (1938-2012), Whistleblower Support Fund, February 12, 2012.
Both Morton Thiokol and NASA were under the scrutiny of the entire nation, and they felt that they couldn’t afford to call off a space mission the day of. Everyone in the nation in a way, has a say in the space program, as it’s funded by taxpayer dollars. No one would approve of funding a program that yields no results. The management had a conflict of interest because putting off the launch would have been bad for their reputation. They tried to cover up the true source of the disaster. After Boisjoly exposed them, they retaliated against him. They shut him out of space projects, and made his life unbearable. After six months, he finally gave up and took leave after being diagnosed with PTSD. His actions were criticized for going against the company, essentially for telling the public the truth.
The federal commission in charge of investigating the incident blamed the “flawed process of decision making” and not the individuals who made the decision. Then, the lawsuits Boisjoly filed against Morton Thiokol and NASA were dismissed after the Justice Department refused to join it. The ethical leadership set by Morton Thiokol and NASA was poor, and the judicial system did nothing to help that by dropping the cases filed by Boisjoly. This disaster was not a lesson learned by NASA as the same situation occured again 2003 with the disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia. Again, a space launch was approved despite warnings given by engineers, and another seven lives were added to the death toll caused by poor ethical leadership.
This kind of disaster could have been prevented in so many ways. The simplest solution would have been to have the administration listen to engineers like Boisjoly. It should go without saying that NASA should’ve prioritized the safety of the astronauts instead of the financial implications of cancelling the launch. However, from the disasters of Challenger and Columbia, it is clear that a change in management is necessary in order to ensure that ethical decisions are made. The engineers who understood the technology and saw the dangers of it, took it upon themselves to try to prevent the launch. They knew the exact repercussions the bad design had on the flight. On the other hand, the management probably only saw what a cancelled flight would mean for their organizations. Had the engineers been given a voice in the decision of whether or not to proceed with the launch, both incidents could have been avoided. Lewis, Linda. Remembering Roger Boisjoly, Challenger disaster whistleblower (1938-2012), Whistleblower Support Fund, February 12, 2012.
- Whistleblower Support Fund, February 12, 2012.
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