Preview

The Soyuz 11 Space Disaster: a Case Study in Engineering Disasters

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1721 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Soyuz 11 Space Disaster: a Case Study in Engineering Disasters
The Soyuz 11 Space Disaster:
A Case Study in Engineering Disasters

ENGG 123

November 20, 2011

ABSTRACT
In 1971, Soyuz 11 was the first manned spaceship to contact the first space station. As the astronauts were preparing to re-enter the earth 's atmosphere the crew cab depressurized and the astronauts were killed within seconds. This paper will discuss the events that happened and how they were investigated. It will also discuss how the disaster affected future engineering decisions regarding the Soyuz missions as well as other future space adventures.

i

Table of Contents

Abstract.............................................................................................................i
Table of Contents..............................................................................................ii
List of Figures...................................................................................................iii
1.0 Introduction.................................................................................................1
2.1 What Happened..........................................................................................1
3.1 What Went Wrong......................................................................................4 3.2 What Was Learned................................................................................7
4.0 Summary....................................................................................................8
Works Cited......................................................................................................9

List of Figures
Figure 2.1: a) a view of Soyuz 11 docked b) a view of Soyuz 11 taking off (Space Facts, n.d.)...........................................................................................2
Figure 2.2: a) seating chart for the astronauts b) the three astronauts inside Soyuz 11 c) astronauts preparing for takeoff (Space Facts, .n.d)...................3


Cited: Engineering Failures (n.d.). Soyuz 11. Retrieved from http://engineeringfailures.org/?p=124 on November 23, 2011 Svens Space Page (n.d.) The Soyuz 11 Disaster. Retrieved from http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/histind/Soyuz11Land/Soyuz11land.html on November 23, 2011 Space Facts (n.d.) Soyuz 11. Retrieved from http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-11.htm on November 24, 2011 About.com (n.d.) Soyuz 11. Retrieved from http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-11.htm on November 22, 2011 Abyss (n.d.) Space Accidents. Retrieved from http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/space/lectures/lec12.html on November 30, 2011 9
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Challenger Space Shuttle Case Study Essay
    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Challenger Space Shuttle Case Study Essay

    In the following case study, we’ll have a brief analysis of the disaster that took place with the “Challenger Space Shuttle” and the role played by the 3 most important players: Thiokol, NASA and the White House. At the end we will discuss the things that could have prevented not only this but all major disasters that take place in various organizations.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Case Study: The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion
    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Case Study: The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion

    The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after 73 seconds into flames in flight on January 28, 1986 with one of the seven astronauts, a school teacher Christa McAuliffe aboard.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Challenger Disaster Research Paper
    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Challenger Disaster Research Paper

    In its two hundred and twenty eight years of existence, the country of America has seen many tragedies and failures. However, in the eyes if many, the worst of these tragedies was by far the Challenger disaster of 1986. On January 26, the world was shocked as everyone watched the Challenger shuttle explode, killing all seven crewmembers. The challenger disaster was by far one of the worst tragedies of the space exploration era. However, the disaster should not have occurred. In fact, it should have been prevented.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Homer Hickam's Dream
    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page

    Homer Hickam's Dream

    Inspired by the Soviet Union’s rocket, Sputnik1, Homer Hickam, a son of a coal miner, gave up his father’s wish: follow his steps and work in the mines, and tried to build rockets of his own, but his plan was initially disdained by his family and classmates. Fortunately, with the encouragement of his teacher, Miss Riley, Homer and his friends persevere to build their homemade missiles and on their way to becoming a successful instructor of our shuttle mission astronauts.…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Space Race Research Paper
    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Space Race Research Paper

    During the time right after the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in a “Space Race” to see which country could get a man on the moon first and ultimately claim space for their nation. The Soviet Union led the way by sending the first satellite into space and then the first human. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first human to go into space and make a complete orbit around the earth. Yuri was a Russian Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He became an international celebrity over night. He returned to earth as a national hero in his country. His flight is still the shortest flight, 108 minutes from launch to landing. Although Yuri moved up the ranks in the Soviet Air Force, he was banned from the space program.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

    The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States, at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC).…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Space Race On The Cold War And Following Decadess
    • 1986 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Space Race On The Cold War And Following Decadess

    The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1950’s and 60’s was by far a major landmark in the history of technological achievements for mankind and could, at the time, be considered the pinnacle of human ingenuity. With this in mind, we must understand that the Cold War was a fragile time period full of a plethora of exploration into various scientific fields and political conflict as we pushed the limits of mankind’s inventiveness and the measure of our hatred when we challenged the communist menace, the Soviet…

    • 1986 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Space Race: The Race To The Moon
    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Space Race: The Race To The Moon

    Three, two, one, blast off. The ship went up in smoke as it rose to the atmosphere and launched the first satellite into space. This achievement started the Space Race. The race to the Moon would be an excruciating and long task for the U.S. and the Soviet Union.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Cold War: The Space Race
    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cold War: The Space Race

    Aboard the cabin were the astronauts: Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee. Before the fire there were already some problems. First, there was a foul odor in one of the space suits. After some talking, they decided to continue the tests. Next, the communications was cutting out. The fire started when they were doing a launch rehearsal test. The fire started at 6:31 the fire was spotted. The fire was presumed started from some wires underneath Grissom’s seat.…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Was The Purpose Of The Space Race And Astronomical Exploration?
    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What Was The Purpose Of The Space Race And Astronomical Exploration?

    In early 1959, the Soviet space program launched Luna-2, the first man made probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, travelling in the capsule-like spacecraft Vostok-1. The United States effort to send people to space was called 'Project Mercury'. NASA engineers designed a smaller, lighter, cone-shaped capsule, and held a final test flight in 1961 before the Soviets were able to pull ahead with the Gagarin launch. On The 5th of May, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Effective Commemorative Speech Paper
    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Effective Commemorative Speech Paper

    President Ronald Reagan’s speech regarding the tragic disaster of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986 was an emotional speech expressing empathy and inspiration. The speech honored the seven astronauts who lost their lives and also offered hope to those who continue to explore space in the future. Several expectations from President Reagan’s speech was achieved.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Space Race Essay
    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Space Race Essay

    The first landing on the moon was an incredible milestone for humans. It marked the end of the Space Race, the creation of advanced technologies, and the unification of the USA. The start of the space race saw the Soviet Union take a giant head start over the United States of America with the successful launch of Sputnik, a Soviet Union satellite launched on October 4th, 1957. The Soviets also launched Sputnik 2, which contained a live passenger, but the passenger died due to the overheating of the cabin and Sputnik 2’s batteries died after only 6 days in space. The US attempted to catch up to the Soviet’s progress with the attempted launch on December 6, 1957, of the Vanguard.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Space Race Technology
    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Space Race Technology

    This article was published in 2010, providing a more recent account of the Space Race. The author that wrote the piece is not named, rather they are listed under the name “History.com staff”. Lacking the author’s name weakens the validity of the source, due to the fact that there is no way of confirming his or her credentials. This article is meant to provide a span of information to the public, including the context of the Space Race, specific events, and its effects. The article provides factual information about the Space Race. It contributes to my investigation because of its ability to underscore the innovation that occurred with the development of space technology. By highlighting some of the major events affiliated with the Space Race, the progression of technological success can be evaluated. Being from a television channel suggests that entertainment and information converged while creating the article. It is possible that with the goal of attracting a wide audience, the information provided on the site has been oversimplified for the sake of…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Atomic Bomb Testing
    • 1448 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Essay On Atomic Bomb Testing

    The United States and the Soviet Union fought to send the first human to space. Russia pulled ahead early in the game with the successful launch of the first manmade satellite, Sputnik 1 in 1957. On the twelfth of April in 1961, The Soviet Union finally won the race to space when they sent Yuri Gagarin to space in the spacecraft Vostok 1. Prior to the launch however the Soviets sent a prototype of the Vostok 1 with a life sized dummy, Ivan Ivanovich, and his companion a dummy dog named Zvezdochka. With the success of the dummy launch, the spacecraft was deemed fit for a human to travel to…

    • 1448 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Informative Speech
    • 1303 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Informative Speech

    Introduction: “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” When that phrase is spoken everyone knows who said it, when it happened and what kind of leap it was. It was a leap into space for America. Neil Armstrong said it, while accompanied with Buzz Aldrin as they landed on the moon, July 20, 1969. A third man, Michael Collins, stayed in orbit, and waited for the two to come back, and return back to Earth. The “Space Race” was one of the biggest competitions of the mid-to-late 20th century, along with the Space Race, there are many little known facts about the First Lunar Landing and with every government operation, and there are conspiracies. There will always be people who believe the lunar landing was faked, even though many of them have been proven to be true. There are so many interesting facts about the First Lunar Landing, that I will only be able to provide you with a few today.…

    • 1303 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics