Columbia's Final Mission Video Case

Words: 986
Pages: 4
Open Document
Columbia’s Final Mission video case is designed to help you understand how failures occur and how you might prevent them in your own organizational life.

You have previously been assigned to play a role as a manager or engineer role and central figure in the team that managed this mission. Your password for your role is on the role group assignment page in Blackboard. You reach this page by clicking on Groups from the course home page, locate your assigned role and click on that group. If you have difficulties locating your group please contact me. You will note that there are some features to the video (such as a timeline and a calendar and NO back button) that is different from other videos you may have watched. All of the …show more content…
The fact that these foam strikes were believed to only be a maintenance issue on previous missions; it would have taken solid evidence to convince the team otherwise. The engineering team was using a crater analysis to try to predict the damage caused by the foam strikes. However, the crater analysis was not designed to calculate this type of damage. All of this evidence led Schomburg to only one conclusion and that was that the foam strike would never be treated a safety-of-flight issue but rather a maintenance issue after returning. Even if it was believed to be an in-flight-issue, there was nothing that could have been done about it until they returned. For the past 38 years Schomburg strictly followed NASA’s cultural beliefs. These beliefs were to be efficient and to follow protocols. Since the spaceship was a glider and there was no potential help for the ship, there was no one to worry about making repairs to it. Since foam strikes occur on nearly every mission, it was hard for Schomburg to see past the typical protocol of foam strikes being a routine maintenance issue. It would have taken actual data to make anyone consider otherwise and that wasn’t available so it was straight forward to be non-safety-of-flight issue and overlooked. If I were in Schomberg’s shoes I believe I would have acted in the same way he did. There is no data to prove the foam strike was anything but a maintenance issue and therefore it
Show More

Related Documents: Columbia's Final Mission Video Case

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

After the shuttle Challenger had exploded on the launch pad in 1986 a private investigation team had been set up by NASA to investigate such disasters. As the recovery of debris took place the team set out to give answers as to what had caused the break-up of the Columbia. From the very beginning the team looked into the foam that had hit the wing on launch day as other materials such as ice had been known to damage other shuttles before this incident. At this point in the investigation NASA stated…

Words 1195 - Pages 5

Space Race Research Paper

The International Space Station has been in orbit for over 25 years, but neither that nor the countless discoveries in space exploration made over the last 68 years would have been possible without the advancements made during and since the Cold War’s Space Race. During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, which lasted from 1947-1991, there was a competition to prove technological and intellectual superiority by putting the first man on the moon. It began in 1955 and ended…

Words 1118 - Pages 5

NASA: A Brief Historical Overview Essay

increases. Between 1993 and 2002 NASA lost 13% in purchasing power over a decade. Over time with budget cuts NASA lost a net total of 540 million dollars which drained their valuable resources for the core task of the agency. Over three decades the shuttle program was hit the hardest during the Clinton-Bush budget constraints. This played a major role in accountability and responsiveness because if there are no workers and no money, who can you rely on to make sure that the important task are accomplished…

Words 1005 - Pages 5

Organizations Inability to Incorporate Major Change Even in the Shadow of Failure Essay

NASA and the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center dealt with large problems and why there seems to be a lack of change within these types of organizations even after large scale failures. The author looks at research done surrounding the Space Shuttle Columbia and Challenger accidents and firsthand knowledge of how a small nonprofit space museum handle the institutional change needed after public failures. From how an emergency room doctor looks at critical thinking to the inside knowledge of a huge…

Words 3190 - Pages 13

What's Next For NASA? By Brian Dunbar

focus from shuttle missions and the International Space Station which are both essentially dead horses at this point, and focusing on more advanced and fruitful creations such as a new type of shuttle capable of taking astronauts to mars, more efficient and safer aircraft to secure our superiority in the aerospace field and even meteorological aspects to better help us understand and perhaps predict natural catastrophes like hurricanes or tsunamis. Though NASA will not be launching shuttles any time…

Words 907 - Pages 4

Essay on Columbia Accident Investigation Board Audience and Use

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Audience and Use Making sure that a technical document meets the needs of its intended audience is crucial to successfully facilitate the communication of concepts and ideas. In order to meet these needs, they must be clearly identified and specifically addressed. In the article “COLUMBIA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD”, the audience’s identity, needs, personality, and expectations are all clearly defined and addressed. The first part of the article sets up…

Words 1072 - Pages 5

Challenger Explosion Essay

The new technology of the 70’s and 80’s paved the path for one of NASA’s greatest accomplishments, the Space Shuttle program. The Space Shuttle fleet was comprised of orbiters Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery, and Endeavor, which completed many missions that contributed to our knowledge of space and science. Unfortunately, the events of the Challenger Explosion in 1986 now serve as a grim reminder of why communication and precision is vital in the world of space exploration. It was an…

Words 745 - Pages 3

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Analysis

If a shuttle with foreign astronauts fails, and those on board lose their life, diplomacy too continues, although on a much more careful level in order to initiate constructive and transparent dialogue with those nations. This is crucial as those nations will be looking for answers as to what occurred. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, exemplified some of these concerns, although the crew themselves…

Words 1899 - Pages 8

Americans Should Be Allowed To Travel To Space

into space. NASA eventually threw in the towel and ended the space program. There are many possible reasons on why they did, some people say that they ran out of money and others say that NASA is unable to finish what they started. In 2011 the Space Shuttle made its…

Words 1132 - Pages 5

Essay about History: Space Shuttle and Canadarm

green is re-phrase that sentence, and underlined red font are just comments I made to the things you wrote. ***TELL ME IF YOU NEED ME TO EDIT AGAIN OR HAVE THINGS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND OF MY CORRECTIONS**** The significance of the Canadarm (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) to Canadian history is its outstanding performance, showing Canada’s scientific knowledge and marking its close collaboration with NASA. It was able to solve problems such as how to move objects around in space, save money…

Words 923 - Pages 4