Xah Lee's Unixism

[Paul Repacholi]

Nick Landsberg <SPAMhukolauTRAP at SPAMworldnetTRAP.att.net> writes:

>> Indeed, it could have failed in a way entirely unique to
>> itself... :) The O-Ring thing had been identified, was preventable
>> and should have been prevented. Sure, perhaps the design did suck,
>> but the point is the whole disaster was trivially avoidable if the
>> people running the show were willing to grasp the nettle.

> Since we're so far off-topic here anyway ...

> It has been so many years since the Challenger disaster that memory
> fades (especially at my age), so bear with me if a misremember
> something.

> As I recall, the particular launch happened during an unusual cold
> spell in Florida.  I also recall that the investigation uncovered
> strong recommendations by several senior engineers, prior to launch,
> that the launch should be postponed because the system (shuttle and
> boosters) had never been launched during those kinds of weather
> conditions.  (It could very well be that they might have pointed out
> the O-rings specifically, but I don't recall.)  Some
> managementcritter at some level (probably in NASA) ignored or
> overruled those recommendations.  I can only conjecture that this
> was because that the prevailing culture (in most corporations, then
> and now) is "we have to meet our schedules."

Grab a copy of `Genius', Gleiks bio of RF and read the end chapters
and note what was `leaked' to him.

Before the launch, it was known that they where colder than any
previous launch, and that the seal erosion problems they worried about
where wose in colder conditions.

The engineers wanted to holdm but that would have meant Ronny Raygun
could not grandstand on TV, so N.A.S.A.

-- 
Paul Repacholi                               1 Crescent Rd.,
+61 (08) 9257-1001                           Kalamunda.
                                             West Australia 6076
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