EG2401 Group 3

Analysis of the Challenger

disaster using the Ethics Line
Diagram
Kenneth Goh
Timothy Tsang
Tan Yen Kheng
 Factual Issues
F1. Blow-by of the O-rings had occurred in an
earlier flight where the temperature was 53
F2. The overnight temperature before the
shuttles flight was 8, even colder than the
originally predicted low 20s
F3. Both NASA and Thiokol had known of the
issues of the O-ring at low temperatures
F3. NASA were informed of the low predicted
temperatures on the launch date which were
even lower than the lowest 53 launch
previously
 Conceptual Issues (Party 1
Morton Thiokol)

C1a. When the plan was first conceived,

does the power to make decisions lie with
the engineers judgment or solely the
management?
C1b. When the plan was first conceived,
does Thiokol has the authority to override
NASA and postpone the launch?
C1C. Were there clear considerations for
the safety of the astronauts when the
green light to launch was given?
 Conceptual Issues (Party 2
NASA)

C1a. When the plan was first conceived, is the

purpose for mankinds advancement in
technology or political move to support a
party?
C2b. Were there clear considerations for the
safety of the astronauts when the green light
to launch was given?
C2c. Was the problem of a potential danger
that involved lives seriously considered
although the data obtained were inconclusive?
Ethics Issues (Party 1 Morton
Thiokol)

E1a. Thiokol had known of the inherent

problems of the O-rings at low
temperature
E1b. Thiokol engineers had reiterated to
their management that the original
decision not to launch was the correct one
E1c. VP of Thiokol, Lund, reversed his
previous decision and recommended the
launch to proceed
Ethics Issues (Party 2 NASA)

E2a. NASA and Thiokol had a meeting the

evening before the launch to discuss the
possible effects of the cold temperatures
on the rocket boosters
E2b. NASA employee Mulloy disagreed with
Thiokol engineers view and pointed out
that the data was inconclusive
E2c. NASA didnt want to postpone the
launch as they didnt want to antagonize
Bush, who was an ardent NASA supporter
 Ethics Line Drawing:
Case 1

Morton Thiokol recommending the launch

of Challenger to proceed, noting Lund (of
Thiokol) reversed his previous decision and
recommended that the launch proceed.

Thiokol were already aware of problems

with the O-rings
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party #1
Morton Thiokol
NP PP

P2 SC P1
1
Pt Party #1 Morgan Thiokol Location from
Left
NP Recommending the launch to proceed, Left Point
ignoring the inherent problems of the cold
weather with the blow-by of the O-rings; and
not informing NASA of the O-ring problems at
low temperatures.
PP Reverse the decision of allowing the launch Right Point
to proceed, at the same time working
together with NASA to rectify the O-ring
problems, and issuing a new
recommendation of postponing the flight
until the weather turns better or until the
problem has been rectified.
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party #1
Morton Thiokol
NP PP

P2 SC P1
Pt Party #1 Morgan Thiokol 1 Location from
Left
P1 Thiokol and NASA held discussions on the O- 9.5
ring the evening before the launch and
Thiokol recommended that the launch should
be delayed until the O-ring temperature
could be at least 53
P2 Lund of Thiokol reversed his previous 0.5
decision of delaying the launch and instead
recommended the launch to proceed despite
knowing the problems with the O-ring
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party #1
Morton Thiokol
NP PP

P2 SC P1
Pt Party #1 Morgan Thiokol 1 Location from
Left
SC1 Thiokol to recommend that the launch should 7
be delayed until the O-ring temperature
could be at least 31, where the original
design had specified that was the lowest
temperature in which the booster is able to
operate properly
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party #2
NASA
NP SC PP
1
P2P3 P1
Pt Party #2 NASA Location from
Left
NP Allowing the launch to proceed despite Left Point
knowing that the temperatures on the day of
launch were the lowest ever and had
resulted in severe erosion of the O-rings
previously
PP Delaying the launch until the inclement Right Point
weather had died down and ensuring that
Thiokol conduct investigative tests to find out
whether there was correlation between the
temperature and the erosion of the O-rings
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party # 2
NASA
NP SC PP
1
P2P3 P1
Pt Party #2 NASA Location from
Left
P1 NASA, who had expected low temperatures 9
on the day of launch, checked with all shuttle
contractors to determine if they foresaw any
problems with launching the shuttle at low
temperatures
P2 NASA employee, Larry Mulloy, pointed out 4
that the data that Thiokol had presented was
inconclusive and disagreed with them, even
though he may have known that there had in
fact been severe erosion of the O-rings at
53 on a previous launch.
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party # 2
NASA
NP SC PP
1
P2P3 P1
Pt Party #2 NASA Location from
Left
P3 When the launch was recommended, and 4.5
McDonald, who was the director of the Solid
Rocket Booster project at Thiokol, found out
and attempted to convince NASA to delay
the launch, NASA did not take his views into
consideration
SC1 NASA to question Thiokol on the reasons 8.5
behind their decision to reverse the decision
of delaying the launch until better weather,
when they had already knew of the inherent
problems with the O-rings
 Ethics Line Drawing:
Case 2
NASA did not want to postpone the
launch, noting NASA didnt want to
antagonize [Vice-President] Bush, a
strong NASA supporter, by postponing
the launch due to inclement weather
after he had arrived.

NASA was already informed that the

predicted temperatures (in the low 20s
degF) was lower than the lowest 53
degF of previous launches where there
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party #1
Morton Thiokol
NP PP

P2 SC P1
1
Pt Party #1 Morgan Thiokol Location from
Left
NP Recommending the launch to proceed, Left Point
ignoring the predicted colder weather with
the blow-by of the O-rings; and not caring
whether how the outcome would affect Bush.
PP Reverse the decision of allowing the launch Right Point
to proceed, at the same time working
together with NASA to rectify the O-ring
problems, and issuing a new
recommendation of postponing the flight
until the weather turns better or until the
problem has been rectified; and mindful that
a negative outcome would adversely affect
Bush.
 Ethics Line Drawing: Party #2
NASA
NP SC PP
1
P2P3 P1
Pt Party #2 NASA Location from
Left
NP Allowing the launch to proceed despite Left Point
knowing that the temperatures on the day of
launch were the lowest ever and had
resulted in severe erosion of the O-rings
previously; and not caring whether how the
outcome would affect Bush.
PP Delaying the launch until the inclement Right Point
weather had died down and ensuring that
Thiokol conduct investigative tests to find out
whether there was correlation between the
temperature and the erosion of the O-rings,
ensuring a positive outcome which would be
beneficial for Bushs political agenda.