Apollo, Challenger, Columbia: The Decline of the Space Program: A Study in Organizational Communication

Apollo, Challenger, Columbia: The Decline of the Space Program: A Study in Organizational Communication by Tompkins, Phillip K.. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780195330441.

Apollo, Challenger, Columbia: The Decline of the Space Program provides unparalleled longitudinal insight into the organizational successes and failures of NASA. The book treats NASA over its 45-year history from 1958 to 2003, concentrating on five "data points": * 1967: when Tompkins first served as a Summer Faculty Consultant in Organizational Communication to legendary rocket scientist Wernher von Braun during the Apollo Program. * 1968: when he served in the same capacity to help reorganize NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. * 1986: when he investigated the communication failures that caused the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. * 1987: when he researched NASAs highly successful Aviation Safety Reporting System. * 2003: when he interpreted the communication failures leading up to the catastrophic failure of the space shuttle Columbia.