Challenger Catastrophe

In Paul Conrad’s cartoon (Feb. 27), “Autopsy of a Catastrophe,” a drawing of the space shuttle Challenger is labeled with words like “MONEY,” “SCHEDULE,” etc. Forty years experience as an engineer in the aerospace industry leads me to believe that Conrad has (uncharacteristically) diffused the issue.

He could have used one word, “arrogance.” The arrogance that prompts higher-level decision-makers to pretend that factors other than engineering judgment should influence flight safety decisions and, more important, the arrogance that rationalizes overruling the engineering judgment of engineers close to the problem by those whose expertise is naive and superficial by comparison.

The flaw is not in the decision-making process; it is in the decision-making mentality. Consequently, it would be of little value to move engineering decisions to a higher level, as has been contemplated by members of the presidential investigating commission.

For reasons beyond the scope of this letter and also beyond my comprehension, there appears to be a trend toward the devaluation of expertise at lower levels and a preference for decisions based on legalistic rather than engineering considerations.

This observation is supported by the spectacle of NASA officials before the investigating commission behaving like a bunch of lawyers. Fortunately, in my experience at least, the most outrageous blunders, staunchly defended by the hierarchy, have resulted in failures during the extensive testing required of complex and critical components. It is my tentative understanding that conditions prevailing during the last launch were outside the test “envelope.”

So, what to do? The excising of this particular brand of arrogance does not appear feasible, but if calling things by their right names is the beginning of wisdom, then the current investigation has a chance of being therapeutic.

In the meantime, while we are honoring those who died in the Challenger disaster, let us also acknowledge the competence and courage of the engineers who did their damnedest to keep it from happening.

CALVIN E. MOELLER

Woodland Hills