Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Independent University, Bangladesh BAETE Accredited

Marks Case Study 02 (Challenger)

Allocated Obtained Course Code EEE 422, Autumn 2022
Ethics, Engineering
Course Title Economics and
Management
Course
30 Instructor
Md. Munir Hasan

Due Date 11 Dec 2022, 08:00 Hr.s

Submission
12 Dec 2022, 08:00 Hr.s
Date
Student
1820795 Student Name Asia Mahanur Shupti
ID

The Challenger Disaster Case

Based on the material and discussions that we had in the class regarding the Challenger
Disaster case, please answer the following questions in your own words. (Your ingenuity and
originality of thought process are to be reflected in the answers):

1. What are the major ethical lapses and the respective involved parties in the Challenger
Disaster Case? (10)

Ans : Seven astronauts were killed in the blast. The key ethical issues in this situation
were a lack of communication between management and a weak safety culture. The
primary ethical issue in this instance was the lack of a strong safety culture. The
Challenger disaster's primary cause was the failure of two rubber O-rings to seal a
joint between the two bottom parts of the right solid rocket booster. Due to this
malfunction, hot exhaust gas from inside the rocket was released while the shuttle was
ascending. An organization's ethics code specifies the moral principles and best
practices for truthfulness, integrity, and professionalism. Employees who transgress a
 company's ethical policy may face disciplinary action, up to and including
termination. On that day, the Challenger space shuttle exploded, killing seven people.
What exactly went wrong? A cognitive bias known as "groupthink" was pervasive in
the decision-making process that resulted in the Challenger explosion, according to a
number of case studies on the incident. If it weren't for the strongest cross-wind ever
seen during a shuttle mission, the fuel piece would have served as a "seal" until
booster separation. This set off a series of events that ultimately resulted in the space
shuttle disaster.

2. Do you think Roger Boisjoly should have blown the whistle as the engineering
decision of “no launch” was overruled in favor of a launch? Please give arguments in
favor of your opinion. (10)

Ans : Let's talk on whether Rojer Boisjoly should have raised a red flag as the
engineering decision to "no launch" was reversed in favor of a launch, as stated in the
question: The Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) broke apart 73 seconds into its
mission on January 28, 1986. In the United States' first mishap involving an American
spacecraft in flight, seven crew members perished. The Space Shuttle Challenger
catastrophe is the name of this tragic incident that occurred during the American
space program. The failure of the two redundant O-ring seals at a joint in the right
Solid Rocket Booster of the Space Shuttle was the primary cause of this terrible
occurrence ( SRB ). The space shuttle should not be launched in low/freezing
temperatures, according to the engineers' caution. These sad events may have been
avoided if those warnings had been taken into account. A Rogers Commission was
appointed by President Ronald Reagan to look into the event. The Rogers
Commission faulted NASA's organizational culture and decision-making procedures
for their role in the disaster during the probe. The O-rings in the SRB have a
potentially fatal defect, according to test data from 1977. Both NASA and Morton
Thiokol, the maker of the SRB, failed to notice and fix the problem. The officials of
NASA were also cautioned by engineers about the risks involved with launching the
space shuttle in a chilly environment. The management rejected these
recommendations and didn't even alert their superiors to these technical issues.
American mechanical engineer, fluid dynamics expert, and aerodynamicist Roger
Boisjoly. He gained notoriety for vehemently objecting to the Space Shuttle
 Challenger's launch. He was right when he said that launching the shuttle in a chilly
environment would cause the O-rings on the rocket booster to fail. While it is true that
Roger Boisjoly voiced his worries regarding the launch of spacecraft in 1986, he
should not have remained silent when NASA officials dismissed his warnings and
instead should have spoken his concerns to the managers' superiors. . If he had done
so, NASA's upper management may have taken the technical issues into account and
the accident would have been avoided. Roger Boisjoly may have told the news media
about the launch-related issues in addition to reporting them to superiors. The launch
of the spacecraft may have been prevented by media pressure, perhaps saving
countless lives. Although Roger Boisjoly, a well-known whistleblower, also raised the
alarm, he ought to have done more to get his superiors on the hook for canceling the
launch. Being a well-known whistleblower, Roger Boisjoly may have prevented that
sad situation if he had received media backing and support from other influential
people. As a result, Roger Boisjoly may have played a role in delaying the launch of
the spacecraft.

3. What are the three major key ethical take-ways from this case? (10)

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