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KingTut747 t1_ivy01ta wrote

Reply to comment by fantasmoofrcc in NASA leaders recently viewed footage of an underwater dive off the East coast of Florida, and they confirm it depicts an artifact from the space shuttle Challenger by marketrent

Major malfunction is literally the strongest language NASA uses to describe an incident… The rocket blowing up is considered a major malfunction by NASA. They use very technical verbiage.

I am really not sure why you think you should be the one creating verbiage for NASA?

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craigiest t1_ivy9i9y wrote

This isn’t true. In this NASA account of NASA history they call it an accident, an explosion, and a “fiery crash.” “Major malfunction” is just the phrase the announcer used when it became apparent that something had gone wrong. Besides, this is a news article. There would be no obligation that the writer hew to technical language even if NASA did. This isn’t a technical report.

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punkinfacebooklegpie t1_ivydny3 wrote

>I am really not sure why you think you should be the one creating verbiage for NASA?

Don't you know who I am? I'm Mr. Nasa.

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piper_at_the_gates_ t1_ivyzl4k wrote

>I am really not sure why you think you should be the one creating verbiage for NASA?

What a ridiculous standard. We're allowed to criticize NASA, especially when it comes to Challenger.

'Malfunction' is a weak word to describe their poor management and cowardice that killed 7 astronauts.

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thinthehoople t1_ivzhj8c wrote

The guy was calling out telemetry in real time, “major malfunction” in that context is not just defensible but desired.

These are engineers and technical people confronted with a technical problem in real time. They need accurate, not emotional or pr-based language to work the problem.

It wasn’t this guy’s place nor function to encapsulate the entire situation while doing his job in the moment.

You can criticize NASA plenty, and at your pleasure, but this is a dumb one to pick.

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piper_at_the_gates_ t1_iw108xh wrote

OPs quote, and the usage of the word "malfunction" here, is from an article by NASA's history department aimed at the general public.

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thinthehoople t1_iw10ehj wrote

I watched it in real time, too. Your analysis is wrong.

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piper_at_the_gates_ t1_iw1dtol wrote

That's not what this post or thread is talking about. See what OP submitted, it's a press article not a quotation. The use of "malfunction" isn't part of Bill Nelson's speech.

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