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From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.columbia,net.space
Subject: Morton-Thiokol Engineering Claims
Message-ID: <209@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Feb-86 10:55:55 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.209
Posted: Mon Feb 24 10:55:55 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Feb-86 20:22:10 EST
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
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Xref: linus net.columbia:2062 net.space:4533



Re: Why didn't MT go to the media with their concerns about the O-Rings?

Good question. It is an unfortunate property of our institutions that
everyone has the right to lie ('everything is fine') and no one seems
to have the right to tell the truth ('something is terribly wrong').

I quite frankly believe that if it turns out to become generally accepted
that MT really knew there were dangers (not just a worst case study that
the media is hyping up) then NASA had better review the ability of their
organization to allow dissident views, even if they are not popular, to
be heard. I hope this isn't what happened. Everything I have heard about
NASA in the past seems to deny this, that worst case studies are taken
very seriously.

I mean, look at all the delays in the shuttle flights. It doesn't appear
that NASA hesitates to hear that there is a problem, perhaps the final
outcome will be that this one time some anxiousness to launch over-rode
a warning and that should be fixed by a management correction. One should
not be totally non-cynical about MT quite possibly, at this late date,
trying to save face, or to turn it around, yes, if they knew before hand
and were so sure, who did they tell? How hard did they push? Or are we
hearing their hindsight and a press very hungry for news.

	-Barry Shein, Boston University