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Abstract
Space flight is an inherently dangerous adventure that promises knowledge breakthroughs, but its project failures threaten lives and property. The explosion of the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger proved a failure of both tragic and visible proportions. The reason for the Causes of Project Failure: Case Study of NASA Space Shuttle Challenger is to critique a project management failure case study; document and discuss the causes of the project failure; and suggest remedies. It also includes lessons learned from the failure and suggestions for project success through effective leadership. The co-authors of the study have identified an opportunity to demonstrate critical, constructive thinking that shows different points of view and guides the reader through the maze of available information. They also show the state of the art in project failure analysis and lessons learned. The environment affecting this opportunity limits the research by the co-authors' educational background, professional experiences, and available resources as well as time available leading up to the due date and sensitivity of information specific to a co-author's employers. The study's findings concluded that the primary issues in the Challenger project failure derived from political pressures and production methods; and that effective leadership is necessary to flatten NASA's organization and improve its collaboration with contractors. The study also found that, when making critical decisions, a leader must consider lessons learned and past experiences to make the most promising decision possible for the project and project team. During this twentieth year since the Challenger accident, the study's co-authors recommend that NASA report on its progress in employing effective leadership to flatten its organization and improve its collaboration against a background of lessons learned.
Keywords: Challenger, NASA, project failure, Project Management Body of Knowledge, Project Management Institute (PMI), Space Shuttle
1. Introduction
On January 28, 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded about 73 seconds after lift-off and cost the lives of seven astronauts. After this incident President Ronald Reagan launched an official investigation (the Rogers Commission) to examine the cause. The commission determined that exposure of the launch vehicle (Appendix A) to three abnormally cold nights caused an O-ring on one of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs; Appendix B) to became brittle. When the launch occurred, hot gas had exited the SRB and...