Multiple Causes Downed The Challenger Essay Example for Free

Multiple Causes Downed The Challenger Essay The United States has always been proud of its space exploration endeavors.   NASA’s programs have always led the world in technology and performance.   All was going well for the space shuttle program until January of 1986 when the Challenger exploded 73 seconds into the flight, killing all the crew.   Since then, the shuttle program has been besieged by controversy, much of it stemming over the causes of the Challenger explosion.   Basically, reports and research now indicates that the explosion was caused by a deadly combination of mechanical failure and human miscalculation and poor decision-making.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Challenger liftoff was plagued with problems long before it actually was launched.   Delays in both scheduling and weather forecasts forced back the liftoff for a week.   During the last day of delays, a small closing fixture was malfunction, so it was replaced.   Additionally, a module which detects fire was found to be malfunctioning; the crew fixed it as well before the shuttle finally lifted off into space, and then exploded. Officially, the investigative report pointed to a faulty â€Å"O-ring† seal in the solid-fuel rocket as the cause of the crash.   This faulty seal combined with the very cold weather to allow hot gas to leak into the hole.   Rocket flames were then able to penetrate the fuel tank and catch fire causing the booster rocket to break off of the shuttle and pierce the fuel tank. The liquid hydrogen and oxygen then ignited, causing the Challenger to explode. However, this mechanical failure does not deserve all of the blame.   Several human factors were uncovered in this tragedy.   For years, NASA’s programs had, like many other agencies, been forced to cut manpower and money from its programs. Fewer men and less money meant more work for those that did remain with fewer resources.   Clearly, there was too much work and not enough manpower, resources, parts, or money to meet all of the objectives. Yet, despite these conditions, some engineers did warn NASA officials about the fateful launch.   Many engineers voiced concerns about the extremely cold temperatures and the possibility that the equipment could fail.   Apparently, two NASA officials were told of these concerns well before the flight but did nothing.   It seemed that the entire attitude of NASA had suffered a bit of egoism.   The men who knew the truth were asked to remain silent to preserve NASA’s reputation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is rare that one cause can be attributed to a disaster as horrible as the Challenger explosion.   Here, investigators did find a mechanical failure, but soon learned that this failure had been detected.   Instead, the decision-makers chose to ignore the advice of engineers in an effort to preserve the already late launch date.   Sadly, the entire tragedy had to be revisited with the 2003 explosion of the shuttle Columbia.   Hopefully, the lessons learned can be applied to future decisions in the NASA shuttle program.