The Space Shuttle Challenger
(1986) &
Columbia (2003) Accidents
Challenger:
On January 28, 1986 a space shuttle exploded during the program's twenty-fifth
mission, killing seven crew members. Because of the non-astronaut middle
school teacher on board, many school children around the country watched the
explosion. This event halted U.S. crewed space flight for 32 months, and
changed NASA decisively. High-profile investigations found that the technical
cause (leaking joints in the solid rocket boosters) was suspected and
troubling to engineers and managers before launch, but that for various
political and financial reasons they were overruled and pressured to conform
and approve launch.
Colu
mbia:
On February 1, 2003 a space shuttle broke up during a seemingly routine
reentry, killing seven crew members. The Israeli astronaut on board had
provided most of the media interest, because of the heightened fear of
terrorism. A high-profile investigation is closing in on the probable
technical causes (damage to the left wing during launch, age of the fleet),
which were suspected and troubling to some engineers and managers during
the mission. For various institutional and technical reasons, the damage
was never verified before reentry. The investigation added a political
scientist-historian, and is looking beyond technical issues at the
institutional culture of the agency and contractors.
These cases show how seemingly minute technical
issues can have wide-ranging social, political, and other dimensions. It also
introduces the issue of ethical conduct in a technical context where there is
ambiguity, conflicting interpretations, and uneven power relationships.
Columbia Accident Web Sites
The Columbia accident investigation
was covered via the following web sites, some of which may now be inactive::
CBS News Bill
Harwood Web Page
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/space_place/framesource_recent.html
CAIB Columbia
Accident Investigation Board
http://www.caib.us/
CAIB Special
Media Page
http://www.caib.us/media/
NASA Human
Spaceflight Web Page on STS-107
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/home/index.html
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/
NASA Official
Web Page Columbia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Documents
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/foia/index.html
NASA History Office Columbia
Web Page
http://history.nasa.gov/columbia/index.html
NASA Return to Flight Task
Force
http://returntoflight.org/
NASA Vision for Future
Exploration of Space ("Bush 43 Vision")
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/explore_main.html
President's Commission on
Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration (Aldridge Commission)
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/60736main_M2M_report_small.pdf
Columbia Accident Books and
Articles (very selective)
The Columbia accident and NASA's response are covered in the following
published books and reports:
Cabbage, Michael, and William
Harwood. Comm Check . . . The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia. New York:
Free Press, 2004.
Columbia Accident Investigation
Board. Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report Volume 1 + Supplemental
Materials (CD_ROM). Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2003.
Handberg, Roger. "Between a Rock
and a Hard Place: NASA After the Columbia Accident." Space Times 42, no.
5 (2003): 18-23.
Langewiesche, William. "
Columbia's Last Flight." Atlantic Monthly 292, no. 4 (2003): 58-87.
Sietzen, Jr. Frank, and Keith L.
Cowling. New Moon Rising: the Making of America's New Space Vision and the
Remaking of NASA. Ontario: Apogee Books, 2004.
Challenger Accident Published
Materials and Archives
The Challenger accident and NASA's response are covered in the
following published books and reports:
Books
1. Jensen,
Claus, and Barbara Haveland. No Downlink: a Dramatic Narrative About the
Challenger Accident. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1996.
2. Lewis,
Richard S. Challenger: the Final Voyage. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1988.
3. McConnell,
Malcolm. Challenger: a Major Malfunction. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday,
1987.
4. Trento,
Joseph J. Prescription for Disaster: From the Glory of Apollo to the Betrayal
of the Shuttle. New York: Crown, 1987.
5. Vaughan,
Diane. The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Culture, Technology, and
Deviance at NASA. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1996.
Book Chapters
1. Collins,
Harry, and Trevor Pinch. "The Naked Launch: Assigning Blame for the Challenger
Explosion." The Golem: What You Should Know About Technology. Harry
Collins, and Trevor Pinch, 30-56. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
2. Feynman,
Richard. "Mr. Feynman Goes to Washington: Investigating the Space Shuttle
Challenger Disaster." What Do You Care What Other People Think?
Further Adventures of a Curious Character. Richard Feynman, 113-239. New
York: W. W. Norton, 1988.
3. Gieryn,
Thomas F., and Anne E. Figert. "Ingredients for a Theory of Science in Society:
O-Rings, Ice Water, C-Clamp, Richard Feynman and the New York Times."
Theories of Science in Society. editors Susan Cozzens, and Thomas F. Gieryn.
Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1991.
Reports
1.
Presidential Commission on the Space
Shuttle Challenger Accident (Rogers Commission). Report of the Presidential
Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, GPO, Washington, 1986.
2.
Columbia Accident Investigation Board
(CAIB).
Report Volume I. (August 2003);
Appendices Volumes II-VI. (October, 2003).
Video Recordings
1.
CNN. Terminal Count: What It Takes
to Make the Shuttle Fly. 1:00 hrs 2001. VHS Videorecording.
2.
KCTS TV Seattle. Astronauts.
1:00 hrs. VHS Videorecording.
Maier, Mark. A Major Malfunction: The Story Behind the Space Shuttle
Challenger Disaster. VHS Videorecording with supplemental materials.
3.
NASA Television. Challenger
Anniversary Video Package. 8 min. 1996. VHS Videorecording.
Web Pages
Warning:
there are numerous web sites ranging from
authoritative to miserably erroneous. Our comments are intended to help you
evaluate the reliability of the information found. Official and reputable web
sites themselves have points of view, and their content may be slanted or
missing certain perspectives. Even the best sites may contain some errors.
1. Adams,
Rick. "The Challenger's Final Minutes." Web page, Available at
http://www.winternet.com/~radams/chall/.
Abstract: Reliable compilation of information and links concerning the last
recorded words of the crew and the widely circulated hoax transcript beyond 73
seconds.
3.
Dunar, Andrew J. and Stephen P. Waring. "Power to
Explore: A History of Marshall Space Flight Center, 1960-1990." Web page, 2001
[accessed 1 June 2001]. Available at
http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/book/bookcover.html.
Abstract: Full Text; see especially Chapter IX: The Challenger Accident
4.
Federation of American Scientists. "51-L The
Challenger Accident." Web page, [accessed 7 June 2001]. Available at
http://www.fas.org/spp/51L.html.
Abstract: Extensive and well-annotated list of links.
5.
Friendly, Michael. "Gallery of Data Visualization:
The Best and Worst of Statistical Graphics: Challenger Disaster." Web page,
[accessed 7 June 2001]. Available at
http://www.math.yorku.ca/SCS/Gallery/
6.
James, M. Neil. "DSGN119 - Design as a Generic
Tool." Web page, [accessed 7 June 2001]. Available at
http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/FailureCases/Failure.htm#Challenger%20Space%20Shuttle
7.
Mark A. Haisler and Robert Throop. "The Challenger
Accident:: An Analysis of the Mechanical and Administrative Causes of the
Accident and the Redesign Process that Followed." Web page, Fall 1997 [accessed
7 June 2001]. Available at
http://www.me.utexas.edu/~uer/challenger/chall2.html.
Abstract: Well designed and annotated site.
8.
MIT Online Ethics Center for Engineering and
Science. "Roger Boisjoly on the Challenger Disaster." Web page, [accessed 7
June 2001]. Available at
http://onlineethics.org/moral/boisjoly/RB-intro.html.
Abstract: Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly's discussion of the Challenger
Disaster is separated into seven sections. Each section is then followed by
responses and supporting material.
9.
Mottley, Jack G. "ECE 399, Seminar in Electrical
and Computer Engineering, Challenger Case Study." Web page, Spring 2001
[accessed 1 June 2001]. Available at
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/mottley/ECE399/PDFFiles/ChallengerCase.pdf.
10.
NASA. "Implementation of the Recommendations of the
Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident." Web page,
[accessed 7 June 2001]. Available at
http://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/51lcover.htm.
Abstract: Full text of the NASA Report to the President on implementing the
recommendations of the Rogers Commission
11.
NASA. "Information on the STS-51L/Challenger
Accident." Web page, [accessed 7 June 2001]. Available at
http://history.nasa.gov/sts51l.html.
Abstract: NASA History Office official site, containing both NASA and non-NASA
links with no commentary.
12.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Shuttle Projects
Office. "Reusable Solid Rocket Motor and Solid Rocket Boosters." Web page,
[accessed 7 June 2001]. Available at
http://shuttle.msfc.nasa.gov/rsrmsrb.htm
13.
NASA Texas Aerospace Scholars Organization.
"Evolution of the Space Shuttle." Web page, [accessed 7 June 2001]. Available
at
http://aerospacescholars.org/scholars/earthstationmoon/UNIT1/lesson1.htm.
14.
National Air and Space Museum. "The Space Race:
Space Shuttle: First Reusable Spacecraft." Web page, [accessed 7 June 2001].
Available at
http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/gal114/SpaceRace/sec500/sec540.htm
15.
Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle
Challenger Accident (Rogers Commission). "Report of the Presidential Commission
on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident." Web page, June 1986 [accessed 7 June
2001]. Available at
http://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/51lcover.htm.
Abstract: Full text of the Rogers Commission Report
16.
List of Shuttle contractors:
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/sts-subs.html#sts-subs
Archives &
Manuscripts
1.
Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle
Challenger Accident (Rogers Commission). ""Challenger" Commission Audiovisual
Materials." U.S. National Archives, College Park, Maryland
2.
———. ""Challenger" Commission P.C. Numbered
Documents."1986.
Abstract: Official archive of the Commission, available at National Archives:
"The Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, chaired
by former Secretary of State William P. Rogers, investigated the circumstances
surrounding the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger shortly after liftoff
on January 28, 1986. The Commission was established in February 1986, pursuant
to Executive Order 12546, and it issued its final report in June 1986. At the
conclusion of its investigation, the records of the Commission were transferred
to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for permanent
preservation. They have been accessioned in the Records of Temporary Committees,
Commissions, and Boards (Record Group 220) [see entry 220.19, Guide to Federal
Records in the National Archives of the United States (1995)], and are available
to the public. " 8-linear feet or 148-boxes. See INFORMATION FOR RESEARCHERS:
RECORDS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER ACCIDENT
http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic/challngr.html and RECORDS OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER ACCIDENT
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/research_topics/space_shuttle_challenger_accident.html
3.
Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB)
manuscripts and other materials will be archived at a future date. Details may
be found in the CAIB Final Report, Volume 1, pp. 235-236, “A.6. Board
Documentation System.”
# # #
Note to visitors: this web
page was developed in part for a segment of the HCST 100 Introduction to the
Human Context of Science & Technology course at UMBC, taught by Joseph N.
Tatarewicz (Department of History) and Ted Foster (College of Engineering).
More resources can be found at the Challenger page for that course:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~tatarewi/HCST/HCST%20100%20Challenger.htm
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Last updated:
October 19, 2004
Expiration date: Current