civil engineering

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

ETHICS AND THE LAW We should also mention the role of law in engineering ethics. The practice of engi- neering is governed by many laws on the international, federal, state, and local lev- els. Many of these laws are based on ethical principles, although many are purely of a practical, rather than a philosophical, nature.

THE ORIGINS OF ETHICAL THOUGHT Before proceeding, it is important to acknowledge in a general way the origins of the ethical philosophies that we will be discussing in this book. The Western ethical thought that is discussed here originated in the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and their predecessors. It has been developed through subsequent

PERSONAL VS. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS In discussing engineering ethics, it is important to make a distinction between per- sonal ethics and professional, or business, ethics, although there isn’t always a clear boundary between the two. Personal ethics deals with how we treat others in our day-to-day lives. Many of these principles are applicable to ethical situations

How does an engineer accomplish this? safe? If there are some safety concerns, how bad are they? What are the effects of doing nothing? The answers to these questions are often only partly known. So, to a large extent, an engineer’s job is to manage the unknown. How does an engineer accomplish this? Really, as