THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

Temperature Forecast for Challenger Flight

Texto en Español

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Accordingly, I wrote a series of very damning activity reports in which I left no room for error about how I felt concerning the lack of management support. Unfortunately, I never received any comments back and never knew if they had been incorporated into reports up through the management structure.

The evening meeting of January 27, 1986, was the concluding event preceding the launch disaster. The major activity that day focused upon the predicted 18 degrees Fahrenheit overnight temperature.

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Discussion Questions

Contrary to everyone's expectations, it is now predicted that the next day's temperature in Florida will exceed the record cold experienced the previous year. The next day is the day scheduled for the Challenger flight. Boisjoly is firmly convinced that this extreme weather condition presents a major threat to the capacity of the O-ring seals to perform their function, and thus to the survival of the flight crew. Time is short. What actions are appropriate to take in such a situation?

National Academy of Engineering

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