StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy" (Reagan par 3). In those words then President Reagan described the attitude of the seven people who lost their lives aboard the spacecraft Challenger when it exploded 73 seconds after take-off on January 28, 1986.
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.2% of users find it useful
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster"

Download file to see previous pages

Tears not because of the tragedy itself, but the event resonates far into the deep recesses of what we know is true in every one of us. We all dream. We then work to bring forth the dream into reality, into actuality. And something goes wrong and how with the vision, the exhilaration of the dream - in contrast with how tragic our efforts become, we realize how fragile we are. For in itself, the dream, the challenge is made of sterner stuff. It' s as if reaching towards the dream is something that is beyond our control - for if it isn't, we would all stop telling fairly tales to children, knowing that in reality, it's not always a happy ending. (NASA) and of Morton Thiokol, the company which produced rocket motors of space shuttles (Greene p.

1; Berkes par. 6) fought for. The engineers supposedly voiced opposition to launching Challenger into orbit that fateful day. Challenger's launch of its 10th mission was already delayed for days by the cold weather and NASA's management was eager to launch despite concerns by engineers to delay take-off because the O-ring sealants (like washers in a faucet) in the rockets were not tested for complete reliability most especially during cold weather. Despite their opposition, the NASA management proceeded with the take-off and what the engineers feared came to pass.

Hot gases from Challenger's right-side rocket leaked through the faulty O-ring and led to the explosion of the spacecraft. Like the mythical Icaru. No matter what their real personal lives might have been - we look at them like icons, the chosen ones to at the juncture of history. And looking at a picture of them smiling, with their blue astronaut suits, and holding their space headgear - we think of how the human race have stretched democracy into space. We are gladdened that of the seven, two were women - one of them a non-specialist, one an African-American and one an American of Japanese descent.

These seven on board Shuttle Mission 51L, the tenth of Challenger's orbit into space was to do something probably routine for astronauts -which was to carry some equipment like satellite and cameras to observe something so ordinary as Halley's comet (Greene p. 1). What was extraordinary and made it special was that it was the first time a teacher was going into space and she was to be there especially to teach the first outer-space classroom lesson. Sharon Christa McAuliffe, 37 at that time, was chosen from the ranks of 11,000 teachers across the country to fly on Challenger.

Her often quoted line from her Challenger Disasterastronaut application form was "I watched the Space Age being born and I would like to participate" (NASA website).1 The commander of the crew was Francis Scobee, 47 who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and originally trained as an engine mechanic but longed to fly (NASA website). He pursued his dream and managed to fly 45 types of aircraft. As a NASA astronaut, he was part of the crew of the fifth Challenger obit flight who managed to retrieve and repair a satellite in orbit, the Solar Maximum Satellite.

For Michael J. Smith, 41, the 10th Challenger mission where he was space shuttle pilot was his first flight into space. A member of the U.S.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1507143-space-shuttle-challenger-disaster
(Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1507143-space-shuttle-challenger-disaster.
“Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1507143-space-shuttle-challenger-disaster.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

The Failure of the Launch in Thiokol and NASA

In this paper, the author describes why the space shuttle challenger accident occurred due to a mechanical failure.... hellip; The space shuttle challenger accident was mainly caused by human misconduct, organization deviance, failure to adhere to professional ethics, poor decision-making and mechanical problems.... The parties involved in the launch of the space shuttle challenger failed to have a consensus on when to launch the vehicle.... This resulted in the initiation of the vehicle structural breakup, as well as the loss of the space shuttle challenger in the STS 51-L Mission....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

The Challenger Disaster - Failure of Engineering Managers

The mission of the space shuttle challenger STS-51L was to symbolize safety.... The challenger disaster The challenger disaster It was a chilly afternoon off the coast of Florida when around throughout the United States of America, children and adults alike were excitedly had their eyes glued on the television screens to witness the first shuttle launch with an elementary school teacher on-board.... Soon after the accident, President Reagan in February of the same year set up an investigation committee about the challenger disaster which was headed by William Rogers, a former secretary of State....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Challenger and Columbia Shuttle Disasters

The Challenger and Columbia Shuttle Disasters Name Institution The Challenger and Columbia Shuttle Disasters The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster took place in 1986 where the Challenger exploded leading to the death of all the seven members of the crew a few minutes after takeoff.... After the challenger disaster, NASA implemented several changes in accordance with the recommendations made by the Commission that investigated and reported on the disaster.... The aftermath of the Columbia disaster showed that several aspects of recommended changes to NASA after the challenger disaster were not implemented....
3 Pages (750 words) Research Paper

The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster risk management plan

The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster is one of the examples of project management.... One of the examples of a risk management plan was to design a space shuttle program that would utilize both the liquid and solid propellants.... NASA officials ignored the escape system and hence the space shuttle Program became the first the first U.... However it turned out to be a big disaster due to some faulty reasons. From the data provided, it appears that a risk management plan was in existence....
4 Pages (1000 words) Case Study

Risky Technology of the Challenger Launch Decision

As the event was photographed and documented to the closest seconds, the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster investigation showed every detail of what happened or what went wrong.... The space shuttle challenger was named mission STS-51-L, using two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) with primary and secondary O-rings.... rdquo; (NASA 1986) Another technological component that had a major role in the challenger disaster was the launch pad.... The Challenger space shuttle accident happened on 28th January 1986, killing all the seven crew members on the spacecraft....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

Normalization of Deviance Explained by Diane Vaughan

Vaughan cited the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster as an example.... The paper "Normalization of Deviance Explained by Diane Vaughan" highlights that using the challenger example, the engineers on the project should have been sensitive enough while the observers and other individuals in NASA should have pointed out the obvious concerns.... Normalization of deviance is explained by Diane Vaughan (1996) in her book, The challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, culture, and deviance at NASA....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

The Space Shuttle Challenger

?The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster in American History.... A paper "The space shuttle challenger" claims that in just after 73 seconds of its launch, much-publicized project explodes is just a rib cracker.... The space shuttle ChallengerThe space ship challenger is so far the most thought provoking issue discussed in class.... It was evident that they cared little about the safety of the crew, and their anxiety to make headlines for launching the much talked about space shuttle....
2 Pages (500 words) Personal Statement

Opinions and Social Pressure

This paper "Opinions and Social Pressure" discusses social facilitation and evaluation apprehension.... Although Sigmund Freud might have had difficulty explaining Joan of Arc's behavior, he would most likely have recognized the pattern of the struggle between the individual and society.... hellip; Sigmund Freud asserts that an individual's need for freedom stems from the natural desire to find happiness....
12 Pages (3000 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us