On January 28, 1986, the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger exploded above the Atlantic after only 73 seconds of flight, leading to the deaths of the seven crew members onboard. January 28, 1986 marked a tragic mistake that begged to not repeat itself. More importantly, it provided to be a catalyst for change in the decision-making process for not just NASA and Morton Thiokol but companies everywhere. How could a miscalculation resulting in such a tragedy have been overlooked? WAIT A MINUTE. It wasn’t. Engineer Roger Boisjoly warned of the dangers of launching Challenger in very cold temperatures (such as that on the morning of January 28, 1986). In fact, “In 1985, he warned managers that 0-rings used to seal joints in the booster rockets could fail at freezing temperatures. ‘The result would be a catastrophe of the highest order — loss of human life,’ he wrote in a memo” (Remembering Roger Boisjoly). Before the launch, Boisjoly and several other engineers at Thiokol tried desperately to convince management that the launch involved too much risk. “They warned that the cold would cause rubber o-rings to become brittle and fail, allowing hot gases to leak at the joints” (Remembering Roger Boisjoly). The arguments, however, were dismissed by the Morton Thiokol managers and not taken seriously by NASA. “Even in organizations where autonomy is considered paramount, stronger forces are at play. When a problem is ignored long enough, it can go from being an acceptable risk to a disaster in an instant” (How Challenger Expoded). In my opinion, therefore, the root cause of the disaster was not the brittle o-rings on the booster rockets but rather a systemic problem of a hierarchical elite not hearing what they don’t want to hear. Although Thiokol hadn’t tested the O-rings for temperatures below 53 degrees Fahrenheit and thereby told NASA that quantitative evidence for concern was not available, the serious qualms of the Thiokol engineers remained but were swept under the rug.
I believe that Roger Boisjoly was indeed ethical in sharing information with the presidential commission that reviewed the disaster. As a witness called to the commission, he gave accounts of how and why he felt the O-rings had failed. Although his misgivings about the launch were not heeded by the Morton Thiokol management and sharing this information did not reflect well on the company, I believe it to be critical to do so anyway to prevent history from repeating itself. Especially when it comes to saving lives, it is completely justified to be honest with what caused the problem in the first place. Christa McAuliffe, a teacher and part of the Teacher in Space project, was to be the first civilian to fly into space. She was also planning to conduct two 15-minute classes from space, including a tour of the spacecraft, which were to be broadcast to millions of schoolchildren via closed-circuit TV (The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, 30 years later). Christa was one of the seven crew members killed in the accident. Someone whose efforts as an educator were going to be benefitting millions of students deserves to not die in vain; her life deserves the dignity of having preventative measures from such a disaster from happening again in the future. This is why I believe it ethical for Roger Boisjoly to share as much information as possible with the public.
Sadly, “Boisjoly was accused of ‘airing the company’s dirty laundry’ in front of the whole country, wrote the LA Times” (Whistleblowing: What Have we Learned Since the Challenger?). After the commission gave its findings, Boisjoly found himself shunned by colleagues and managers and mistreated to the point that he left the company. Whistleblowing is extremely difficult because it threatens the finances, integrity, and trustworthiness of a company or an individual/group of individuals, making them keen to retaliate in response. It makes oneself a target and the embodiment of disobedience. Although “retaliation may be the most predictable feature of whistleblowing, perhaps enough to make it a defining feature,” it brings the most serious problems to light and contributes to protecting the public’s welfare (Whistleblowing: What Have We Learned Since the Challenger?). What it does maintain is one’s own integrity in being an exemplary citizen: one for all.
Ethics & Professional Issues 