If at first you don't succeed....

[Horace]

America's space shuttle explosions betray a far larger error than had ever been calculated.

[Renauda]

@horace said in If at first you don't succeed....:

America's space shuttle explosions betray a far larger error than had ever been calculated.

I highly recommend that you read Mike Mullane's memoir, Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. Mike Mullane is a retired USAF Colonel and NASA astronaut who was a crew member aboard three Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s. I have had the pleasure on several occasions to meet with and sit down for dinner and drinks with Col. Mullane when our industry association engaged him as a guest speaker at a few of our technical symposia. He is highly critical of what he refers to as the normalization of deviance culture that characterized NASA in the lead up to the Challenger disaster and beyond.

Here is Mike's website:

https://mikemullane.com/product/stopping-normalization-of-deviance/

[George K]

@renauda thanks for the recommendation!

I remember hearing of that book, but somehow, it slipped under my radar. Sounds like a good read.

I'll see if I can find it and put it in my queue!

[Renauda]

@george-k

It is a well written and engaging narrative. A page turner. It certainly makes you think twice or three times about cutting corners in doing your job for the sake of simply accomplishing a specific directive, goal or task.

[George K]

@renauda

The discovery of a grave near miss on the second shuttle mission was not communicated to key safety personnel ultimately resulting in the fatal Challenger mission 4-years later.

Wow...

[Renauda]

@george-k

Mike Mullane's last shuttle mission was this one, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-27

[George K]

Ho.
Le.
Crap.

I had no idea of the damage that Atlantis sustained. Wow.

[Copper]

Then 2 years later Atlantis was delayed by a hydrogen leak and sustained hail damage, and more delay, while being rolled back for repair.

The pilot on that mission used to rent my plane at the flight school where I taught, small world. He later commanded the shuttle and the space station.

One of the other instructors at our school was a former commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds.

So we would have discussions about who was cooler. The Thunderbirds is about as cool as you can get, but the astronaut wins.

[89th]

@george-k said in If at first you don't succeed....:

Ho.
Le.
Crap.

I had no idea of the damage that Atlantis sustained. Wow.

Same. Wow!

[89th]

@copper said in If at first you don't succeed....:

Then 2 years later Atlantis was delayed by a hydrogen leak and sustained hail damage, and more delay, while being rolled back for repair.

The pilot on that mission used to rent my plane at the flight school where I taught, small world. He later commanded the shuttle and the space station.

One of the other instructors at our school was a former commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds.

So we would have discussions about who was cooler. The Thunderbirds is about as cool as you can get, but the astronaut wins.

Hahaha awesome. And yes, small world!