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Learning from Past ExperiencesSpace flight is a risky business. This truism has been bandied about since the earliest days of the space program. When asked by the young daughter of a coworker, one of the Mercury astronauts likened launching into space to "riding a Roman candle" -- it was both exciting and dangerous. Even in these more technologically advanced days, the solid rocket boosters and external tanks of the space shuttle provide a no less exciting, or dangerous, ride into space. However much the phrase "risk mitigation" is bandied about within the U.S. space program, there is still the history of the Apollo 1 fire during a ground test at Cape Canaveral, Fla., the loss of the shuttle Challenger during liftoff, and the loss of the shuttle Columbia when returning to Earth to remind us that while we give lip-service to risk management, we have not learned to manage risk as well as we ought. Moreover, there are many more less dramatic, but equally critical, incidents that have occurred in association with the space program that also highlight our inability to accurately gauge and manage risk. Why do we seem caught in a senseless spiral in which we focus most on risk only after a tragedy? Why do we repeat serious mishaps and not learn from our mistakes? This paper reviews some possible explanations for our risk-taking behavior and provides examples of interest to the NASA centers, while also discussing inter center and intra-center opportunities for sharing information to mitigate risk.
Document ID
20070028560
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hulet, Michael W.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2007
Subject Category
Space Transportation And Safety
Meeting Information
Meeting: NASA Project Management (PM) Challenge 2008, 5th Annual NASA Project Management Conference
Location: Daytona, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: January 1, 1900
Sponsors: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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