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Engineering Ethics Case Study: The Challenger Disaster - 3 PDH

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This course provides instruction in engineering ethics through a case study of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The course begins by presenting the minimum technical details needed to understand the physical cause of the Shuttle failure. The 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. Direct quotations from engineers interviewed after the disaster are frequently used to illustrate the ambiguities of the data and the pressures that the decision-makers faced in the period preceding the launch. The course culminates in an extended treatment of six ethical issues raised by Challenger.
Rating: 5/5
$11.95
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ethics-challenger-disaster_fe_na.pdf
Price: No additional charge

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Manufacturer: Rossow

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

  • Common errors to avoid in studying the history of an engineering failure: the retrospective fallacy and the myth of perfect engineering practice

  • Shuttle hardware involved in the disaster

  • Decisions made in the period preceding the launch

  • Ethical issue: NASA giving first priority to public safety over other concerns

  • Ethical issue: the contractor giving first priority to public safety over other concerns

  • Ethical issue: whistle blowing

  • Ethical issue: informed consent

  • Ethical issue: ownership of company records

  • Ethical issue: how the public perceives that an engineering decision involves an ethical violation

Reviews

Thursday, 10 October 2024
This course was outstanding! It was extremely well-written to be thorough yet with impressive brevity, and it certainly kept my attention. I was an adolescent when the Challenger exploded, and this was a good reminder of something we as a nation should not forget.
It is especially appreciated that the author was willing to compare the Challenger disaster to car fatalities resulting from the CAFE standards and deadlines but without being nasty. Our ethics should mean that we are determined to be consistent.
Well done, sir!
Gary Michael Rhodes
Thursday, 07 May 2020
Learned a significant amount of information both technical and human perspective that I (and I suspect the vast majority of the public) was unaware of. While a tragedy for sure, no one person made the call to risk the astronauts in order to save $ or meet schedules. Too much grey ...and as one of the authors relays- easier to see in retrospect what no one was able to see originally.
Well worth the time!
L. E. Dura

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