The lessons of Challenger

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

According to the author he was not at the launch site with his former NASA colleagues on January 28, 1986, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. Less than two years after wrapping up his own shuttle mission, he was at work at Bell Labs as the national tragedy that claimed the lives of all seven crew members unfolded. When his assistant rushed into his office with the news, he was shocked.

The goal of Challenger, after all, was to make spaceflight, to the extent reasonably possible, routine.  But physics itself dictates that spaceflight is always extraordinary and never without risk. To reach orbit, a spacecraft must fly roughly 100 times faster than an airplane, demanding 10,000 times more energy.  Other missions, including STS-107’s doomed attempt at reentry in 2003 after Columbia sustained damage during launch, have also ended in tragedy, costing the lives.

Yet humanity’s drive to explore remains undiminished. We’re preparing to live permanently on the moon and, one day, on Mars. What once required vast government programs is now increasingly the domain of private industry, which is lowering costs and broadening access to space. But this new era raises important questions: What level of risk is acceptable? And how do we manage it responsibly?

Investigations of both the Challenger and Columbia disasters showed that their causes were not mysterious new risks; they were known risks that had not been properly managed. If we can effectively control the known risks, we may find the unknown ones acceptable.  The author believe we can. 

During his time at NASA, two elements proved vital to managing risk. First, leadership must be unwaveringly committed to safety.   It’s one thing to say that safety comes first, but it’s quite another to hold that line when the pressure mounts.  Second, the goal of safety must be owned by everyone. A culture of open communication, where lessons learned are shared and not hidden, is essential. The aviation industry has long embraced this mindset, encouraging pilots to discuss errors so others can learn from them. Spaceflight should be no different.  Teamwork, too, is at the heart of mission success.

The lessons of Challenger, Columbia, Apollo 13, and the Solar Max satellite continue to resonate in the halls of NASA and, we hope, in the corporate boardrooms where decisions about our space program are increasingly being made. They also still resonate in the classrooms of engineering professors like the author.

Today’s challenges demand more than a narrow foundation in a science or engineering field. Space systems are inherently interdisciplinary. Experts in propulsion, structures, communications, materials, artificial intelligence, and more must work as one. While technical knowledge is critical, collaboration, leadership, ethics, and program management are just as essential.

Spaceflight demands judgment, teamwork, and an instinct for managing the unknown—traits that develop only through experience and mentorship. As educators, our job is to help students gain knowledge and the wisdom to use it well.  If we do that, the explorers who follow will chart new worlds with better tools and the breadth and depth of experience needed to make sound judgments in critical moments. Their success will prove once again that our greatest strength is the human collaboration behind every mission.

show less