This motivates members to prioritize harmony whenever faced with a problem or challenge. He wrote that cohesive groups develop a mode of thinking in order to maintain agreement and limit friction. Yale University social psychologist Irving Janis introduced this theory in the 1970s. Social scientists initially cited the concept of groupthink as to why NASA scientists thought the Challenger’s O-Rings were safe to fly in cold weather. The next question -which was harder to answer: how such a catastrophe could occur in absence of any clear wrongdoing. Government inquiries confirmed that the decision to move ahead with the questionable O-Rings technically followed NASA protocol. The O-Rings failed, hot gases escaped the rocket booster and an explosion ensued. The launch was delayed for two hours to allow ice to melt off the launch pad, but it wasn’t enough to prevent disaster. The night before the big event, engineers warned the temperatures might be too cold for the O-Rings and weaken their seal. The morning of the launch was unusually cold for Florida - just 36 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of the launch. These boosters’ joints had been sealed by rubber O-Rings, which were designed to seal the gap and prevent hot gases from leaking. During liftoff, two rocket boosters were meant to provide the space shuttle with the necessary thrust. The government quickly launched an investigation into why the Challenger exploded. The country later learned that the seven astronauts aboard died. The camera panned down as streams of smoke plummeted toward the ocean. “Flight controller is looking very closely at the situation,” Nesbitt stated calmly. Suddenly, the camera went blurry and the screen filled with white smoke and flashing flames.Īfter a pause, the correspondent suggested the rocket boosters used during the launch had blown away from the spacecraft.
#Challenger space shuttle accident update
Nesbit continued to update the positioning. The Challenger arched in the sky, and the blazing back end of the engines filled the screen. Viewers listened to the roar of the engines while Nesbitt described them as operating as expected. “We have liftoff!” the correspondent confirmed as the shuttle soared into the sky.Ī bit of static brought in Nesbitt’s voice as he noted the Challenger properly rolled, a technique used to reduce stress on the wings. Viewers heard the correspondent count down and saw the three main engines ignite. Networks like CNN alternated between audio from the excited correspondent covering the event and the calm voice of Steve Nesbitt, NASA’s public affairs officer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Millions of Americans were glued to their televisions on the morning of Januto watch the Challenger space shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.
0 kommentar(er)
