NASA Website Analysis: NASA's climate

While studying the history of the Challenger disaster and investigation on the NASA website, I was immediately drawn to President Reagan’s eulogy at the memorial service held in Houston. The President’s remarks about each of the seven astronauts onboard Challenger were very personable and he mentioned specific qualities and characteristics that made each astronaut unique. I found the eulogy very heart-wrenching and emotional and I feel that Reagan was successful in giving the incredible and courageous astronauts that died in the disaster a proper mourning.

I found the statement made by former NASA Administrator, Sean O’Keefe, very interesting on the history of the Columbia disaster and investigation website. O’Keefe briefly mentioned the loss of the astronauts and how tragic this disaster is for their families as well as for the entire country. However, I was surprised to find that the focus of the statement was toward solving the investigation instead of mourning the loss of the astronauts who passed away earlier that morning.

After observing the Career link on the NASA website, I got the feeling that the climate at NASA is very supportive and encouraging. Sally Ride is quoted on the Career page and she provides any potential or aspiring NASA employee with suggestions on how to reach their goal. Moreover, Ride explains that NASA hires people with a wide variety of backgrounds which gave me the impression that the climate at NASA is very open and supportive.