Space Mission Failures: When Rocket Science, Politics and Human Nature Collide

Dr. Michael Swartwout, Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Structural Engineering

Spacecraft are sophisticated machines designed to survive brutal rocket launches and the harsh environment of space. Tens of millions of dollars are spent on the right materials and testing to ensure their proper performance. And yet, from time to time, some human mistake or environmental effect slips past all that money and effort, with expensive consequences.

Why? How can large teams of very smart, dedicated people with very large budgets produce flawed spacecraft? The most important explanation is that the physics of space flight leaves no margin for the kinds of safety features we expect in automobiles and aircraft; thus even small errors have magnified effect. But, I argue that the very spacecraft design process -- large teams with big budgets building complex vehicles -- can itself carry the seeds of failure. Failure is often the unintended consequence of an early design decision or organizational arrangement.

Most of the time, teams of smart engineers wisely spend their large budgets to build spacecraft that can withstand any one problem (or even two). As will be shown in our examples, failure is often brought about when two or three (of five) factors team up against the spacecraft.

In this talk, I will briefly review the process by which economics, politics and engineering come together (and conflict) to make spacecraft. Then, we will discuss the problems encountered by nine missions in the light of these competing pressures: the Falcon I rocket, Galaxy VII, SOHO, Genesis, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Climate Orbiter, Mars Polar Lander, the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover, and the Space Shuttle Columbia. In addition to discussing the details and root causes of these failures, we will uncover common solutions for avoiding such problems in future missions.