Challenger Space Shuttle Program Essay

NASA administrators were being pulled in many directions and there were scheduling pressure from Congress, the White House, U.S government, the American public, government agencies and aerospace industry were all demanding actions on launching. The operating budget cuts also played a major part because of the “reforms for promoting flight safety in NASA’s management structure had been implemented. Also, the emphasis concerning technical oversight of the shuttle program was restricted. Meanwhile, the conversion in management changed the organization culture that focused on improving efficiency while plummeting cost; which resulted in “sacrificing safety in the name of efficiency”. (Stillman, 2010, p.107) In addition, the pressure from Congress and the aerospace companies resulted in reducing employment due to budget cuts, which the employees impacted by were safety inspections of preflight …show more content…
I would suggest reorganizing the NASA’s management function to Johnson Space center managers who was over the Challenger Space Shuttle Program wasn’t a wise decision, considering how space shuttle Challenger ended in a heartbreaking tragedy. Based on the reading on the shuttle Challenger disaster, I am not sure how they didn’t learn from history, and what they expected when they allowed the same shuttle program to be controlled by the exact management team who had authority over funding and shuttle activities. Moreover, upper management and Linda Ham were two groups that worked closely together and was aware that there were evidence and risk concerning the foam. Meanwhile, NASA Columbia crew deceived in believing that all safety measures were taken, and I am sure they didn’t have a clue that the foam malfunction wasn’t corrected, considering this had been a known issue for