Like it or not, Allan McDonald's insider account of the Challenger Disaster is a book for the ages. The early chapters are necessarily tedious which may put off the more superficial or time-pressed reader. Here, I am especially thinking of tech managers who have become so beholden to corporate speak that they are losing touch with their technical grassroots. If you find yourself sliding into this miasma, you will have most to gain from the lessons of this book — as will your employer because any organisation ignores engineering realities at its peril.
So take a hit for the team and plough through the minutiae of sold rocket booster design and see what happens when the movers and shakers play God with tried-and-tested engineering principles. But do keep a reference on hand or you may get lost in a whirlwind of acronyms and empirical data. Knowledge that is hard won is best retained and your perseverance in the early chapters will deliver its own rewards. With many unexpected twists and turns beyond the main subject matter, you will not be able to put this book down even after you reach the end.
This is also a must-read for aspiring engineers in any field, not least in software development where preventable disasters don't even raise eyebrows anymore. Accomplished engineers are not always the best story-tellers; but they do have an inherent honesty and "rational empathy" as epitomised by the author and his more diligent colleagues. Some will confuse this with naivety and aloofness which only betrays those traits within themselves. Because the chickens always come home to roost — even when they take the scenic route.
This is no time to let sleeping space dogs lie. Feel the rabid heat from the baying mob as lies give way to truth and the spotlight shifts from the fall guys to those who hung them out to dry. Marvel at the honesty and courage of a select group of engineers, led by McDonald, who give the Shuttle programme a badly-needed reality check thereby ensuring its survival — at least until it was eventually put into cold storage by narrow commercial interests. Shudder at the continuing attempts to sabotage their selfless efforts by dissembling careerists, pork-barrel politicians and unscrupulous competitors who are prepared to milk a tragic event for all its worth. Celebrate democratic politics at its best when Ronald Reagan populates his Presidential Commission with the right mix of experts who can discharge their remit without fear or favour. Compare the various documentaries on the Challenger Disaster and consider how even the most respected media organisations can put their own self-serving gloss on the facts — a lesson we must still heed today!
Pay particular attention to the appended mini-biography of the author and the winding path that led him to a career in engineering. It makes one wonder if our postmodern world prepares us adequately for this most noble profession.
This is also a must-read for aspiring engineers in any field, not least in software development where preventable disasters don't even raise eyebrows anymore. Accomplished engineers are not always the best story-tellers; but they do have an inherent honesty and "rational empathy" as epitomised by the author and his more diligent colleagues. Some will confuse this with naivety and aloofness which only betrays those traits within themselves. Because the chickens always come home to roost — even when they take the scenic route.
This is no time to let sleeping space dogs lie. Feel the rabid heat from the baying mob as lies give way to truth and the spotlight shifts from the fall guys to those who hung them out to dry. Marvel at the honesty and courage of a select group of engineers, led by McDonald, who give the Shuttle programme a badly-needed reality check thereby ensuring its survival — at least until it was eventually put into cold storage by narrow commercial interests. Shudder at the continuing attempts to sabotage their selfless efforts by dissembling careerists, pork-barrel politicians and unscrupulous competitors who are prepared to milk a tragic event for all its worth. Celebrate democratic politics at its best when Ronald Reagan populates his Presidential Commission with the right mix of experts who can discharge their remit without fear or favour. Compare the various documentaries on the Challenger Disaster and consider how even the most respected media organisations can put their own self-serving gloss on the facts — a lesson we must still heed today!
Pay particular attention to the appended mini-biography of the author and the winding path that led him to a career in engineering. It makes one wonder if our postmodern world prepares us adequately for this most noble profession.