Question

WEEK 9 ASSIGNMENT:

Answer the following questions:

1. Considering the Space Shuttle tragedies give a synopsis of what you perceive to be the major risks (7-8 minimum) that should have been considered BEFORE the tragedy occurred. Thoughts on adding – the failed initial rollout of the ACA Web Portal?
2. Were there any "triggers" that indicated a potential risk was becoming a problem or issue?
3. In your opinion, could this tragedy have been prevented if a thorough risk assessment had been completed and implemented including careful monitoring of triggers and consideration of mounting concerns before the liftoff? Please explain your response

Answer 1

We must first establish the fact that Space Shuttles, or in fact Space Travel in general, is risky. Thus our main issue shifts to 'managing' that existing risk. Before liftoff, everyone in the Command Centre is glued to their screens. These teams are monitoring the parameters of the mission that they were charged with. So it can be said with good accuracy that there are checks in place to abort or delay the launch in case a fault is detected. But, space shuttles are extremely complicated structures with various systems interacting with one another. Thus, there is a chance that someone may have missed something. Even though the space shuttle disasters were unfortunate, I believe that the operators did everything they could to ensure safe liftoff. These incidents will only push NASA to make these launches safer and increase their level of vigilance.