Ethics Challenger Disaster

Course Description:

This course provides instruction in engineering ethics through a case study of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The minimum technical details needed to understand the physical cause of the Shuttle failure are given. This disaster itself is chronicled through NASA photographs. Next the decision making process, especially the discussions occurring during the teleconference held on the evening before the launch, is described. The course culminates in an extended treatment of six ethical issues raised by Challenger.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the common errors to avoid in studying the history of an engineering failure
• Understand the decisions made in the period preceding the launch
• Know the ethical issues involved with the Challenger disaster
• Learn the shuttle hardware involved in the Challenger disaster.