The Columbia Accident – Enduring Lessons From An Insider’s Viewpoint
bb7’s Director of R&D and Systems Engineering to present at the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Regional Meeting
INCOSE Regional Meeting
Thursday, April 20, 2017
bb7’s Director of R&D and Systems Engineering will deliver his popular presentation, The Columbia Accident – Enduring Lessons From An Insider’s Viewpoint. This presentation examines the Columbia tragedy. Working inside NASA’s Mission Control Center at the time of the accident, he brings an insider’s perspective on the experience.
What
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew aboard were lost during reentry. The direct cause of the accident was a piece of foam insulation that detached from the external tank during Columbia’s ascent sixteen days prior. As was the case with Challenger’s loss 17 years earlier, a complex system of enabling factors stretched back long before the launch.
This presentation examines the Columbia accident, reviews the event reconstruction, and explores available information and associated decision-making during the mission. You may never design or operate a system like the Space Shuttle, but there are important lessons that anyone with engineering or project management responsibility can learn.
Who
bb7’s Director of R&D and Systems Engineering is originally from the Midwest. His career relocated him to Houston with a dream job – a seat in NASA’s Mission Control Center, where he was responsible for the International Space Station‘s electrical power system during the design phase and the first few several years of ISS assembly. A veteran flight controller with more than 2500 hours of console support, he developed contingency hardware still onboard today and helped the Program rethink its critical spares strategy.
Upon returning to the Midwest, he joined bb7 and initially supported IceCube, an Antarctic neutrino detector project. During his time at bb7, he has helped create or improve four major Antarctic research tools, collaborated on several medical products, and implemented a design-oriented ISO-9001/13485-registered quality management system.
When
Thursday, April 20, 2017
6:00-6:30 pm – Dinner & Networking
6:30-6:45 pm – Introductions & Announcements
6:45-8:00 pm – Presentation
Note: Attendees at bb7 have an opportunity to attend a brief tour of the facility at 5:30pm
Where
Schaumburg, IL – IBM, 10 N Martindale, Schaumburg, IL 60173 (3rd floor conference room)
Madison, WI – bb7, 5407 Fen Oak Ct., Madison, WI 53718 (Mendota Conference Room)
Glendale, WI – Johnson Controls, 5757 N. Green Bay Avenue, Glendale, WI 53209 (MPR Conference Room)