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How different are personal ethics and professional ethics? Have you found this difference to be signifi cant in your experience?   Chapter 1 Introduction 13 reentry to the earth’s atmosphere. This accident was the second loss of a space shut- tle in 113 fl ights—all seven astronauts aboard the Columbia were killed—and pieces of the […]

The Space Shuttle Columbia Failure During the early morning hours of February 1, 2003, many people across the Southwestern United States awoke to a loud noise, sounding like the boom associ- ated with supersonic aircraft. This was the space shuttle Columbia breaking up during     Chapter 1 Introduction 13 reentry to the earth’s atmosphere.

The Aftermath As a result of the explosion, the shuttle program was grounded as a thorough review of shuttle safety was conducted. Thiokol formed a failure-investigation team on January 31, 1986, which included Roger Boisjoly. There were also many investiga- tions into the cause of the accident, both by the contractors involved (including Thiokol) and

The Launch Contrary to the weather predictions, the overnight temperature was 8°F, colder than the shuttle had ever experienced before. In fact, there was a signifi cant accu- mulation of ice on the launchpad from safety showers and fi re hoses that had been left on to prevent the pipes from freezing. It has been

The Days Before the Launch Even before the accident, the Challenger launch didn’t go off without a hitch, as NASA had hoped. The fi rst launch date had to be abandoned due to a cold front expected to move through the area. The front stalled, and the launch could have taken place on schedule. But

The Political Climate To fully understand and analyze the decision making that took place leading to the fatal launch, it is important also to discuss the political environment under which NASA was operating at that time. NASA’s budget was determined by Congress, which was becoming increasingly unhappy with delays in the shuttle project and shuttle

Early Problems with the Solid Rocket Boosters Problems with the fi eld-joint design had been recognized long before the launch of the Challenger. When the rocket is ignited, the internal pressure causes the booster wall to expand outward, putting pressure on the fi eld joint. This pressure causes the joint to open slightly, a process

THE SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER AND COLUMBIA ACCIDENTS The NASA Space Shuttle Disasters The space shuttle is one of the most complex engineered systems ever built. The challenge of lifting a space vehicle from earth into orbit and have it safely return to earth presents many engineering problems. Not surprisingly, there have been sev- eral accidents

When there are safety concerns, what is the engineers responsibility before the launch decision is made? CASE STUDIES Before starting to learn the theoretical ideas regarding engineering ethics and before looking at some interesting real-life cases that will illustrate these ideas, let’s begin by looking at a very well-known engineering ethics case: the space 6

ETHICS PROBLEMS ARE LIKE DESIGN PROBLEMS At fi rst, many engineering students fi nd the types of problems and discussions that take place in an engineering ethics class a little alien. The problems are more open ended and are not as susceptible to formulaic answers as are problems typically assigned in other engineering classes. Ethics