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Ethics Case Study No. 1: Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
On January 28, 1986 NASAs space shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart and disintegrated 73 seconds after launch, killing the seven members of the crew. The loss of the Challenger had serious consequences for NASA, sidelining the shuttle program for nearly three years and irreparably marred NASAs reputation. A presidential commission was formed to investigate the accident, and concluded that the breaking up and disintegration of the Challenger was caused by a failure in the O-ring seals in the solid rocket booster. The O-rings failed as a result of operation during below freezing temperatures, a known issue. The day before the launch engineers from Morton Thiokol, the company who manufactured the solid rocket boosters advised NASA to delay the launch based on below freezing weather forecasts at the launch site.
This case is presented by Allan J. McDonald, former director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project for Morton Thiokol, and the engineer who was asked to approve the January 28th launch of the Challenger. In this video Allan discusses the events surrounding the facts surrounding the Challenger disaster, the culture within the NASA program, and the ethical challenges he faced in late January 1986, and in the ensuing years.
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