Failure to Launch

More NASA Officials Say Shuttle Not Safe

When will the management of NASA ever learn? Two FAILED Shuttle launches in the past 20 years which costs not only money but more importantly LIVES can attributed directly to management insisting on "pushing through" with the mission inspite of clear and present safety issues. NASA management has ordered the Space Shuttle Discovery to launch on Saturday even if NASA's chief safety officer and engineer said "No". WTF? It is the same type of twisted thinking that is driving the Iraq war and pursuit of the dollar by the multinationals in China. People are no longer people but instead merely tools, stats, casualties, just a number, etc. in the plans and agendas of the powerful few. Apparently, NASA management can tolerate a certain amount of risk. However, they are managers and not engineers. If I was an astronaut, I would call a strike right now. Why will I fly if the safety officer himself said it was not safe? Furthermore, the foam insulation issue is what had caused the two previous Shuttles to explode, and apparently, it is not yet completely fixed and ready in Discovery (I think it's a design flaw). They know the problem, they know what happens when the foam ignites, why are they pushing forward?

It's quite interesting that we studied the Challenger Disaster as an example of bad management in business class during college. Many years later, NASA has yet to figure things out.

(Rickey puts down his Prada thinking cap)