Home > Men > Live by His Power > Monitor my talk
Men of Integrity, May/June 2000
This Week's Theme: Powerful Words
| Powerful Words |
Monday, June 12
|
When NASA Wouldn't Listen
Key Bible Verse: The
way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice (Proverbs
12:15). Bonus Reading: Proverbs 18:13; 19:20; Ecclesiastes 7:5
On
a bright January morning in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger burst into
flames 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Flashback one year. Roger
Boisjoly, a senior scientist with a NASA contractor, examines blackened grease
on partially eroded O-rings of a recently flown shuttle. He suspects that the
relatively cool temperature in which the shuttle flew hardened the rubber rings,
breaking their seal and permitting the booster's hot combustible gases to escape.
Boisjoly performs lab tests.
At 75°, the primary O-rings lose their seal for 2.4 seconds; at 50°, for 10
minutes. The backup O-ring remains sealed. But at too low a temperature, he
concludes, neither would seal, leading to a booster explosion. Boisjoly raises
the issue with top management.
The day before the shuttle's
scheduled liftoff is bitterly cold—a predicted 18° at launch time. Three teams
of engineers and managers teleconference. Boisjoly insists that the temperature
must be at least 53° for the shuttle to safely launch. A top NASA official responds,
"My God, when do you want me to launch? Next April?"
The contractor's managers
vote 4-0 to recommend launch.
—Michael A. Zigarelli in Management
by Proverbs
Personal Challenge:
- What makes people courageous enough to say
"no" when everyone else says "yes"?
Thought to Apply: It's easy to know all the
answers if you don't bother to listen to the questions.
Credits: Adapted from— Monday: Management
by Proverbs (Moody Press, Moody Bible Institute, 1999)
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of
Integrity. For reprint information click here.
May/June 2000, June 12, 2000
To sign up for a free trial of Men of Integrity click
here.
To order multiple copies of Men of Integrity for your men's group,
click here.
Men of Integrity
Connect with God | Transform my Mind | Live by His Power
Relate Better | Make an Impact
Home | Archives | Contact Us
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Try an Issue of Men of Integrity
Free!
|
 |
|
No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders.
If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
Give Men of Integrity as a gift
Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
|
