...Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster happened on February 1st, 2003, which broke on the way back to the Earth. All the astronauts, including two women died in this disaster. The reason why this disaster happened was a piece of foam insulation broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank which damaged the left wing of the shuttle. Even though some engineers of NASA had doubted that the left wing of shuttle had been damaged, the administration staffs restricted to do advanced research. The engineers of NASA found that the foam shedding and debris strikes could not be avoided and solved, even though the previous design of space shuttle required that the external tank was not to shed foam or other debris. However, this situation was not account for security threat and regarded as the acceptable risk. Thus, the launch was given the go-head. Due to the broken left wing which caused the damage of Space Shuttle thermal protection system, hot gases penetrated and destroyed the internal wing structure which led to the disintegrate of the shuttle immediately over the area of south Dallas. Ignore the Feedback Control Even though the similar situation happened in the prior mission (in the 13th and 16th mission of Columbia, the foam went undetected as well), the administration department of NASA were getting used to those situation which did not cause the serious damage to the shuttle that led to the disaster of the 28th mission of Columbia. Just like Diane...
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...You may have heard of the Challenger explosion but have you heard of the Columbia disaster. This disaster happened due to human error and cost the lives of 7 people. This disaster changed the course of spaceflight for the future because of how bad it was. The first main key moment is on January 16 ,2003 space shuttle Columbia took off from Kennedy Space Center. 81 seconds into the flight a piece of insulating foam from the bipod attaching Columbia to the external tank broke off and hit Columbia’s left wing at around 540 mph and went unnoticed by NASA. NASA then informed the Columbia crew once they found out and said it was nothing to worry about. The second key moment of this event is while they were in space for sixteen days...
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...Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 128–142, 2004 ß 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. www.organizational-dynamics.com ISSN 0090-2616/$ – see frontmatter doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2004.01.002 Lessons in Organizational Ethics from the Columbia Disaster: Can a Culture be Lethal? RICHARD O. MASON ‘‘Houston We Have a Problem.’’ A Message Never Sent or Received. On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia, on its way to its landing site in Florida, blew apart in the skies of East Texas. Its seven-member crew perished. The $2 billion ship was lost; some destruction occurred on the ground, and considerable cost was incurred to recover debris scattered over several states. The disaster sounded an eerie echo from the past. Seventeen years earlier the shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight due to an O-ring malfunction. All seven crewmembers were also lost. And, about 11 years before that, the cabin of Apollo 1 burst into flames on its pad. Three crewmembers were killed. Within a day, as NASA policy requires, an internal investigation team of six ex officio members was formed. Harold Gehman Jr., a retired admiral who was NATO supreme allied commander in Europe, was appointed to chair it. A veteran of several military investigations, including the bombing of the U.S. Cole, Gehman, in an initially unpopular move, broadened the inquiry to include the agency’s organization, history and culture. Sean O’Keefe, NASA’s administrator, was incensed that the investigation...
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...Module 4 Discussion Questions Answer each of the following question with a substantive response. A substantive response is one that: 1) is a minimum of 125 words, 2) is a thoughtful and thorough response to all aspects of the question, 3) accurately applies information from the course material, and 4) utilizes appropriate grammar. You will be graded based upon length and grammar, your insight into the issue addressed, and demonstration of knowledge of the course material as found in the book and elsewhere. Please check the formatting before submitting your response. 1. Read the following scenario: Is there an ethical issue here? How should she act in this situation? How can she convince the marketers? Be sure to explicitly apply the rules of ethical decision-making in determining your answer. “A marketing team presents a children's cereal brand manager with a ‘Less Sugar’ ad campaign for three of her brands. Large print and dynamic type on the package exclaiming ‘75% LESS SUGAR’ will catch the parent’s eye and increase sales. Concerned about their children’s weight gain, parents will purchase the cereal. The carbohydrate content of the less sugar product, however, is the same as high sugar version, at best only10 fewer calories per bowl, so it offers no weight loss advantage. The brand manager’s immediate reaction is ‘This marketing campaign is unethical.’” (Hamilton, J.A., 2009). Yes there is an ethical issue in this scenario. The marketing team is advertising...
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...On the 1st February 2003, a critical systems failure on the space shuttle Columbia on its re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere. This caused the disintegration of the shuttle leading to the death of all seven crew members. 1. Describe NASA's apparent approach to risk management after Challenger but before Columbia. On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart in 76 seconds after launch, killing all of its 7 crew members. On the day of launch engineers were concerned that the temperature was too low to launch (-2.2 C lowest launch temperatures recorded) and that there was too much ice on the shuttle. O-rings would not perform correctly at this temperature. NASA management was told of this issue but it was deemed an acceptable risk and launch went ahead. After the incident, a new safety office was created to allow better communication and risk assessment. NASA’s apparent approach to risk management at this time was probable risk management1. For the space shuttle, linear analysis might be sufficient between probability, impact, and frequency2, with probability addressing how likely the risk event or condition is to occur, impact detailing the extent of what could happen if the risk materialized, and frequency meaning likelihood of occurrence of an event whose values lie between zero and one. 2. What additional risk measures would you recommend to NASA? Justify your recommendations? Firstly, NASA may need to change the organizational attitude...
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...Columbia Space Shuttle Simulation (LINDA HAM) 1. How would you characterize the culture of NASA? What are its strengths and weaknesses? NASA was created in 1958 to give the United States of America a position in the “space race” after the Soviet Union launched the satellite “Sputnik” into orbit. The goal of NASA was to put a man into orbit before any other country and shortly after that was completed, the new goal was to put a man on the moon. NASA gained recognition from all over the world for it’s success in space exploration but soon, the pressure from the government caused changes would lead to major problems. Culture can be defined as, “a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization.” During the time of the Columbia Mission I believe NASA’s culture was very static meaning it hadn’t changed in a long time. NASA’s culture focused on major values such as, safety, schedule efficiency, integrity, and communication. But out of these values, schedule efficiency took precedence over the others, which led to disaster. There are many strengths and weaknesses of NASA’s culture but the weaknesses caused the organization to become counterproductive in the long run. The strengths of NASA’s culture are that the organization has a very “can-do” attitude when it comes to task achievement, they have a legacy of excellence and technological advancement, the organization is bureaucratic, and there is a strong sense of pride and teamwork at NASA. There...
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...communication is not to speak, but to be clearly understood. This saying can directly define what happened during the NASA Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters. There are many things that contributed to those shuttle disasters; communication however played a substantial role in both. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was the result of a number of things going wrong. The o-rings that were used on the solid rocket boosters seem to be the determining factor. Many Morton Thiokol engineers were worried that the o-rings would not perform well in low temperatures. They were not certain that the o-rings were going to work efficiently enough to have a successful launch. They attempted to escalate these concerns to upper management but without supported data nothing was done. Management continued the launch which resulted in the Space Shuttle Challenger crew losing their lives with complete loss of the shuttle. February 1, 2003, NASA saw another tragedy unfold because of erroneous communication. Columbia Shuttle flight 107 exploded after re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. Part of the foam insulation that was used on the shuttle hit the left wing, damaging the Shuttle’s thermal system. While re-entering the earth’s atmosphere the thermal system experienced a lot of heat buildup and this caused the shuttle to explode. An investigation by the Columbia Accident Investigation determined that some engineers had doubts about the foam and tile used during launch. Since these areas...
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...Discuss the changes that NASA implemented after the Challenger disaster Really developing an organization consist of finding needs for change within an organization. It is also the time to quickly grasp the nature of the organization, identify the appropriate decision maker, and build a trusting relationship. The next step is the . Start-up and contracting. In this step, a company identify critical success factors and the real issues, link into the organization's culture and processes, and clarify roles for the consultant(s) and employees. This is also the time to deal with resistance within the organization. A formal or informal contract will define the change process. 3. Assessment and diagnosis. In this case the president needed to sit down and process their main issues in order to avoid another strike.(Grusenmeyer,2009) The Challenger disaster occurred in the first moments of launch on an unusually cold January 28, 1986. Because of the cold weather, an O-ring seal between SRB segments leaked hot combustion gas, which quickly triggered the explosion that destroyed the vehicle. The dynamics of launch cause the joints between SRB segments to flex, and to prevent leaks the O-rings must be resilient enough to "follow" this flexure and maintain their seal. The cold O-rings were too stiff to follow the joint flexure. (Coffey 2010)The Columbia disaster culminated during reentry on February 1, 2003, after completion of the mission's on-orbit tasks. During launch the external...
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...team presents a children's cereal brand manager with a ‘Less Sugar’ ad campaign for three of her brands. Large print and dynamic type on the package exclaiming ‘75% LESS SUGAR’ will catch the parent’s eye and increase sales. Concerned about their children’s weight gain, parents will purchase the cereal. The carbohydrate content of the less sugar product, however, is the same as high sugar version, at best only10 fewer calories per bowl, so it offers no weight loss advantage. The brand manager’s immediate reaction is ‘This marketing campaign is unethical.’” (Hamilton, J.A., 2009). 2. Watch the video on the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster on the textbook website: http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/NBC/Flash/NBC_Columbia_Space_Shuttle_Disaster.html . [You may also wish to research the 2003 Columbia disaster and the 1986 Challenger disaster for a complete picture]. Then, answer the following question using the terminology and concepts from the course: What seems to be the major decision-making problem(s) facing NASA? What types of...
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...Underlying Cause(s) Superficially, the Columbia space shuttle explosion was caused by critical damage to the Orbiter sustained during launch. Upon ascent, a piece of insulating foam separated from the external fuel tank’s bipod ramp and struck the Orbiter’s left wing, causing a buildup of atmospheric gas in the wing. Which upon reentry compromised the Orbiter’s structural integrity. In-depth analysis of pre-launch decision-making revealed that NASA’s strict flight schedule placed unrealistic time pressures on the management team and engineers. The team was tasked with five launches in one year. As a result, they were constantly looking ahead to the next flight instead of focusing their full attention on the current flight, its mission, and its safe return. The pressure created a mindset that disregarded all concerns. A more realistic time schedule would have remedied this. After all, defying gravity takes time....
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...03-18-13 MCAA Kelly, mm, 722 words, need pic Perseverance Key for Capt. Mark Kelly By Mike Murphy NEWS staff Featured speakers during the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) annual convention conveyed a message about the importance of perseverance to success in professional and personal endeavors. During the Annual Awards of Excellence Breakfast, former astronaut and naval aviator Captain Mark Kelly, U.S. Navy retired, inspired attendees with his presentation entitled Endeavor to Succeed, which highlighted events and experiences that influenced his remarkable life and career. He spoke about his determination to become a naval aviator and a NASA astronaut despite several set-backs and his wife Gabrielle's undaunted will to recover from her injuries following an assassination attempt in January 2011. Kelly flew 39 combat missions from the USS Midway during Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. In 1996 he and his twin brother Scott were selected by NASA to be shuttle pilots, the realization of a life-long dream for both of them. Capt. Kelly spent more than 50 days in space, finally culminating in his retirement in June 2011. Kelly’s wife, Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords had been shot in an attempted assassination in Tucson, Ariz. During the days, weeks, and months following that event Kelly carefully and methodically managed the aftermath, first caring for his wife and then arranging for her long-term rehabilitation. Rep. Giffords recovered so well that...
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...TUI Module 5 – Case Resistance to Change- Columbia Tragedy Ronald Kroetsch 22 July 2014 Dr. McNaughton Resistance to Change: Overcoming Individual and Structural On 1st February, 2003, the Columbia space shuttle was expected to make its way back on earth without any mishaps. However, this never happened because the shuttle broke apart in the Texas skies. NASA had eagerly waited for the Columbia to bring back various important research results after completing its 16 day mission in space. NASA has faced three major crises that are well documented and accessible to the public. The first tragedy took place in 1967 involving the Apollo 1 Spacecraft. In 1986, exactly after two decades, the Challenger space shuttle tragically exploded off the Florida coast. The most worrying trend is that NASA has a well-documented history about the accidents and it was expected that they would have learned something from the previous crises. NASA has totally undermined its credibility with resistance to change. The Columbia mishap can be attributed to resistance to change the individual and structural culture of the organization. Individual and organizational sources of resistance The loss of lives and disintegration of the Columbia shuttle can be traced to the resistance of the NASA leaders to change. The cause of this accident can partly draw its roots to the policy environment that followed the turbulent post-Cold War era. In the period between 1960s and early 1980s, both the Soviet...
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...Risk Tolerance The amount of risk NASA tolerated with the Challenger launch is absurd. NASA acted as though it were a busing system going to and from space. This high tolerance towards risk may have been caused by NASA falling into an overconfidence psychological trap. An overconfidence psychological trap is the process of estimating an overly narrow range of possible values, caused by initial impressions or past events (Hammond, Keeney & Raiffa, 1999). Prior to the Challenger, NASA had been extremely successful in its launches and achievements. NASA safely had launched shuttles 24 times before, and a sense of routine had crept in. This led to overconfidence and an unhealthy level of risk tolerance (Osgood, 2011). NASA was so confident in the safety of the mission that they allowed a school teacher to join the crew. The biggest risk of all is loss of life. It seems completely inappropriate that NASA allowed non astronauts on this mission. According to the NASA website, three conditions that can cause mission and safety failures are finite resources, task and organizational uncertainty, and changing, dynamic environments. Specific features common to all high-risk environments also include mission and systems complexity and distributed teams (engaged in both design and operations). Both features require huge amounts of coordination and information sharing, which are potential sources of risk (Mission, 2008). All three conditions occurred during the Challenger launch. The...
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...The movie that was selected to illustrate a high performance team in action was Armageddon which is directed by Michael Bay and stars Bruce Willis. Much of the material that we have studied illustrate that teams out perform individuals within an organization. This is most evident when performance requires multiple skills, judgments, and experiences (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993). In analyzing and comparing the characters and events in the movie, Armageddon, one sees many of the elements of a high performance team such as problem solving, goal setting, conflict resolution, and team dynamics. The traits of a leader were also visible through Bruce Willis’s character Harry Stamper. Hackman (2002) states that a leader must possess two critical skills; the first is skill in diagnosis and second skill in execution. Characteristics of a high performance team are evident throughout the movie. Armageddon is an action adventure film in which a meteor the size of Texas is careening towards the earth. NASA scientists discover it after a meteor shower destroys the Space Shuttle Atlantis, killing the entire crew. They only have 18 days before the asteroid destroys the earth. NASA devises a plan to insert a nuclear bomb 800 feet inside the asteroid, when detonated, will split the asteroid into two pieces that will safely fly past the Earth. Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) is asked by NASA to help because he is considered the best deep sea oil driller in the world. After learning the details Harry...
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...Space shuttle Enterprise to arrive in NY on Friday By DEEPTI HAJELA | Associated Press – 3 hrs agoEmailNew: Now the email button gives you a quick and easy way to start a conversation. tweetShare12PrintRelated ContentFILE- In this Nov. 20, 2003 file … FILE - In this Feb. 18, 1977 file … NEW YORK (AP) — Look! Up in the sky! It's a ... space shuttle? An unusual flying object is scheduled to arrive in the city's airspace Friday — the space shuttle Enterprise. Enterprise is expected to get to the city riding on top of a modified jumbo jet. Its trip was to include low-altitude flyovers over parts of the city and landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan's west side. The shuttle had been scheduled to arrive earlier in the week but NASA pushed it back because of bad weather. The shuttle prototype was housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington but will soon be making its home at the Intrepid, where it will be "the largest and most significant space artifact in the entire Northeast," said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, Intrepid's president. That won't happen right away; after its fly-around, the Enterprise is heading to Kennedy Airport, where it will remain for a few weeks until it's taken off the 747 jet it rode to New York. After that, Marenoff-Zausner said, it will be put on a barge in early June and brought up the Hudson River to the Intrepid, where it will be put on the flight deck and a pavilion over...
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