Ethics and Sustainability

  On Jan. 27, 1986, Bob Ebeling, the former engineer for shuttle contractor Morton Thiokol had joined four colleagues in trying to keep space shuttle Challenger grounded. They argued for hours that the launch the next morning would be the coldest ever and that the rubber O-rings could stiffen and cause a potentially destructive fuel leak. But NASA officials and Thiokol executives overruled Ebeling and the other engineers. The Challenger would go on to blow up the next day. Read as much as you can about this and write an essay (2-4 pages, Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spacing, 1-inch margins) discussing how the events leading up to this 1986 accident of the space shuttle Challenger relates to the ethical priorities of engineers. Specifically, discuss the hierarchy associated with the incident and offer suggestions about the correct sequence of ethical priorities that should have occurred in accordance with what you learned in class.