Discovering Leaks in the Primary Seal
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The significance of January 1985 as the starting point
results from the observations made during the post-flight
hardware inspection of Flight 51C. During this inspection I
found evidence that hot combustion gases had compromised the
primary seals on two field joints. My concern heightened as a
result of the large amount of blackened grease I observed
between the two seals. Subsequent to reporting the findings to
my superiors, I was asked to proceed to the Marshall Space
Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, to brief them with
a preliminary viewgraph presentation which included my
observations and an explanation of the scenarios that caused
the seal erosion and hot gas blow-by.
Morton Thiokol was then asked to prepare a detailed
presentation as part of the Flight Readiness Review for Flight
51E, which was scheduled for launch in April 1985. This
presentation was given in February at three successively
higher-level review boards with refinements in contents made at
each level. I presented my belief that the lower-than-usual
launch temperature was responsible for such a large witness of
hot gas blow-by, but NASA management insisted that this
position be softened for the final review board.
Discussion Questions
What is the problem confronting Boisjoly here? The shuttle
is already behind schedule, and the leaks in the primary seal
in Flight 51C in January 1985 occurred during the worst
temperature change in Florida history -- hardly everyday
conditions. Which of the following actions would be appropriate
to take at this point?
Cite this page:
"Discovering Leaks in the Primary Seal"
Online Ethics Center for Engineering
5/19/2006 8:21:10 PM
National Academy of Engineering
Accessed: Friday, November 21, 2008
<www.onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/RB-intro/RB1-1.aspx>