Credit: NASANASAs longest duration without a major human spaceflight mishap considering that the Columbia disaster serves as a backdrop for conversations on spaceflight safety.I just recently viewed NESC Deputy Director Mike Kirsch stand before a roomful of engineers at the Langley Research Center and inform them that with every passing day, NASA breaks a record: the longest stretch without a major mishap in the countrys human spaceflight program given that the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated throughout reentry on February 1, 2003. NASAs obstacle, he informed them, was to make sure the record keeps being broken.Learning From Past Spaceflight TragediesMikes sobering message set the best tone for my presentation of “Principles of Success in Spaceflight,” the class I produced with Victoria Kohl on the human habits elements of success and failure in spaceflight projects. And the Apollo spacecraft program supervisor missed opportunities to avoid the accident due to his belief that the fire risk created by integrating pure oxygen with exposed electrical wiring and flammable materials was not a “genuine” problem, one that required slowing the train barreling down the tracks to fulfill John F. Kennedys end-of-the-decade due date for a lunar landing.A section of the fuselage recuperated from Space Shuttle Challenger, left, and the flight deck windows recuperated from Space Shuttle Columbia at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Credit: NASANASAs longest period without a major human spaceflight accident because the Columbia catastrophe serves as a background for conversations on spaceflight safety.I recently viewed NESC Deputy Director Mike Kirsch stand before a roomful of engineers at the Langley Research Center and inform them that with every passing day, NASA breaks a record: the longest stretch without a significant accident in the nations human spaceflight program given that the Space Shuttle Columbia broke down during reentry on February 1, 2003. NASAs difficulty, he told them, was to make sure the record keeps being broken.Learning From Past Spaceflight TragediesMikes sobering message set the perfect tone for my presentation of “Principles of Success in Spaceflight,” the class I produced with Victoria Kohl on the human habits components of success and failure in spaceflight projects. And the Apollo spacecraft program supervisor missed out on opportunities to avoid the accident due to his belief that the fire hazard created by integrating pure oxygen with exposed circuitry and combustible products was not a “genuine” problem, one that necessitated slowing the train barreling down the tracks to fulfill John F. Kennedys end-of-the-decade due date for a lunar landing.An area of the fuselage recuperated from Space Shuttle Challenger, left, and the flight deck windows recovered from Space Shuttle Columbia at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.